Shadowland
by Marvech93
Summary: Upon returning in Kanto after one of his travels, Blue finds his hometown almost abandonned. Red and his mother have disappeared and professor Oak bestows him with a master ball, the contents of which he doesn't know and begs for him to protect it at all costs. But from whom? And why? Blue makes his way to the border with no idea what's in store for him. Gameverse. No pairings.
1. Ominous wind

_Hey, I'm back!_

 _Since the reception to Invisible was very good, I figured you guys might like another fanfic featuring Red and Blue!_

 _What can you expect from this story? Well, you can expect the same writing style and portrayal of the characters. This is not quite a sequel but more like an alternate ending to Invisible. If you want to be precise, it takes place a few weeks after chapter 24 of Invisible. Therefore, every event that takes place after this chapter never actually happen in this story, but all the rest if canon to this story. So, the characters are the exact same as in Invisible. Therefore, if you haven't read it, you might be confused reading this one, though I'm fairly sure it could be enjoyed on its own. But you should give it a read, as it really establishes the characters and their relashionships and will make this story more powerful. _

_Although this story is a sort-of follow up to Invisible, it will be a different genre. While Invisible was a psychological drama with minimal action and a very grounded and realistic plot, this story will have more action and more supernatural elements to it. It will look more like something you would see in a actual pokémon game, although darker. The rating will be T for now, but right off the bat, I'll tell you that it will eventually change to M because of the violence, language and generally dark content._

 _If you know me, you know that I'm not into yaoi, so there won't be any in this story. In fact, there won't really be romance at all. Also, please note that English is not my native language, so I might make weird mistakes from time to time._

* * *

 **Prologue: Ominous wind**

The sky was gray and the wind was cold when the Viridian City gym leader set foot on the grassy path of Route 22. He'd been away in faraway regions for several weeks, exploring, battling and living on the road like he did for most of his life, but his duties were calling him back home in the Evergreen City, now.

He had a good bunch of challengers waiting for their chance to take his highly sought-after Earth Badge and he wouldn't just pass on the chance to bring their championship aspirations to a screeching halt like he'd been doing since taking over the gym at just eleven years old. Proving he was the best in front of legions of his adoring fans was his favorite thing in the world; apart of embarrassing Red, that was. Still, Blue walked without rush, heading east towards his city, taking in the familiar scenery of his home region, feeling good just doing what he loved.

The trip had been quiet, so far. He had barely come across any human life since entering Kanto. The wildlife was just as active and lively as ever, though. The silence of his journey was suddenly broken and he was pulled from his thoughts when he felt his cellphone vibrate for an unusually long time in his pocket.

Because he had been traveling in relatively isolated locations during his trip, he spent a long while in areas without signal and thus, it prevented him from receiving any calls and texts messages adressed to him, but now that he was back in a civilized area, every message he missed during his time away made the device buzz to life as if a rotom had taken it over.

Curiosity got the better of him when he felt the small piece of electronics vibrate for more than a dozen times. It was unusual for him to get this many calls in such a relatively short while, so the young trainer fished the phone out of his pocket to find out what the sudden influx of calls were from.

He was surprised to see that almost all of the missed calls came from his grandfather's lab. The renowned pokémon professor had tried to call him almost every day starting about a week after his departure.

It wasn't surprising that the old man would try to get back in touch with him, especially after that very serious conversation they had at his gym about a month ago but it was still very odd and kind of unsettling that he would try this hard to get a hold of him. Surely, something had happened... but he didn't even have a guess as to what it could be.

Not intending to live in suspence for long, Blue chose to take a listen to his voicemail to find out what all the fuss was about. He was not exactly prepared for the cryptic and eerie message he heard:

' _Blue, I need you to come to my lab as soon as possible. It's extremely important. Whatever you do, don't talk to anyone on your way._ '

 _What the hell_ , the gym leader couldn't help but wonder. Professor Oak sounded extremely nervous, if not straight up scared on the recording and making such a direct demand to him, especially given how their relashionship was right now, was highly unusual. If something serious was happening, why would the old man keep it a mystery in the message and require for him to come to his lab in person? Samuel was not the type to lie or over-dramatize a situaton just to get what he wanted so Blue felt that whatever he wanted to tell him had to be pretty damn serious.

He was not quite eager to talk to his grandfather again. Not after everything he told him in his gym; the first time they truly spoke in seven years. Not after he had come so close to having his psychological walls crumble. However, the ominous message gave him a horrible sense of unease; a bad feeling. And what was that about not talking to anyone on his way?

* * *

 _Now, this is just a prologue; a short tease. The following chapters will be longer, I assure you. First and foremost, I want to thank TetrisEffect for giving me the motivation and a good bunch of ideas for this story._

 _Unlike Invisible, I can't garantee I will be able to update every week. I will certainly try but I might take breaks from time to time. Especially since I'm taking the risk of starting this before I officially decided how it would end. I just wanted to get back into writing and I've missed you guys and wanted to hear from you again!_

 _I hope you enjoy this new story and if you have suggestions and ideas, I will be glad to hear them!_

 _What is up with professor Oak's message?_


	2. The plight

_The prologue was very short, so I decided to gift you guys with this chapter as soon as it was finished. I might just do that for every chapter, actually..._

* * *

 **Chapter 2: The plight**

It was nothing unusual for Pallet Town to be quiet and peaceful but Blue found it eerily silent upon crossing the small field of tall grass that separated it from route 1and entering the familiar village. As small as it was, Pallet Town usually had many of its citizens walking around at all hours of the day, doing chores, talking; going about their lives without a worry. Kids would run around and play, even on rainy days. Yet, the gym leader found it deserted like a ghost town and the highly unusual emptiness of the village only added to that bad feeling his grandfather's message had put in him.

The pokémon researcher had told him not to talk to anyone on his way but there hadn't been anyone to talk to. It was the first time the young man ever felt this alone in Kanto. It was like everyone had vanished into thin air. Even the pidgeys had quieted their songs.

As the strawberry blonde trainer made his way down the path that ran between his old childhood home and his former rival's, his hazel eyes surveyed the landscape around him. Apart from the silence and the apparent lack of human life, nothing really seemed out of place or unusual, which really raised more questions than it answered.

It would have made a bit more sense for the village to be abandonned if there were signs of some natural catastrophe or criminal activity; anything that could give even a weak explanation, but Pallet Town was deserted for no apparent reason and it kind of freaked Blue out a little. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that his grandfather nervously called him over to tell him something 'extremely important' and that his hometown was empty at the same time? Just what _had_ happened during his time away?

It was probably not nearly as alarming as he was imagining it, he told himself, but he made sure he had his six pokéballs attached to his belt, well in reach... Just in case.

After just a short walk, Blue made it to his grandfather's lab. The door was (almost surprinsingly) unlocked so he waltzed right in, determined to get answers to his many, many questions.

The neon-lit building looked normal enough, except for the fact that, again, there was no one in sight. Blue made his way to the other side of the building to reach Samuel Oak's office. Increasingly displeased with how uncomfortable the atmosphere was, he didn't bother knocking and walked right in again.

"Gramps?" he called when he saw no one in the moderately-sized room.

"Blue? Is that you?" said a voice somewhere behind him.

Blue gasped slightly, surprised by the unexpected presence. He immediately spun around to see the familiar face of the aging pokémon professor standing behind him. He'd been seemingly hiding behind the door. The whole situation felt so ridiculous and over-dramatic, not to mention the fact that he had gotten unecessarily startled, that the young trainer quickly lost his patience.

"No. It's Giratina coming to collect your soul," he spat sarcastically.

Samuel's eyes were wide and worried and he shut and locked the door to his office, ignoring his grandson's sardonic remark. As the old man made his way behind his desk, Blue crossed his arms across his chest to let him know he was sick of all the drama.

"Thank goodness you got my message. Did you come alone?" the elder Oak asked. His tone was almost (but not quite) as calm and collected as it usually was but the gym leader noticed his hands were shaking when he put them on the surface of his desk.

Blue had to make an effort not to respond in a smilar fashion as he did with the other question but that didn't stop him from showing the extent of his irritation and impatience. "Of course, I'm alone. Now, are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on and why you sent me that weird message sounding like you had a terrorist pointing a gun at your head?"

Again, Samuel seemed to chose to ignore his insolence. The pokémon professor nervously played with the sleeve of his labcoat. "You didn't speak to anyone on your way here, did you?"

"Even if I wanted to, there's no one out there to talk to," Blue exclaimed. "Now, _please_ , can you tell me what the fuck is going on?" he insisted.

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Samuel pleaded, casting a nervous glance over his grandson's shoulder, at the door. "I'll try to explain as best as I can, but we don't have much time."

Not before casting another wary glance at the office's only exit, Samuel opened one of his drawers using a small key to unlock it and pulled out an orange-sized round object. A pokéball. Blue raised a surprised eyebrow. Not just any pokéball. A friggin master ball! To further his confusion, Samuel handed him the purple ball almost forcefully.

"I need you to take this master ball, Blue. And I want you to take it to professor Elm in Johto."

Getting impatient again, Blue refused to take the capsule.

"What the hell? I know you're used to asking others to do your work for you because you're old and shit," he remarked dryly, "but why in the world are you asking me to do this? Why not use one of the hundreds of employees you have?"

"Because you need to leave, too," Samuel revealed, still holding the master ball inches from his face, his eyes almost begging him to take it.

There was a moment of silence during which Blue struggled to figure out what to make out of that last sentence. Apparently sensing his grandson's imminent refusal, Samuel went on with his explanation.

"Listen, Blue. Something very serious has happened while you were gone. We don't have much time to talk so I need you to listen to me very carefully."

Blue didn't seem much more receptive but he kept his mouth shut, for the moment.

"There is this group... They call themselves Team Omicron, but they're closer to a cult. They've spread their influence all over Kanto amazingly quickly. They're seeking to take control of the region and they've managed to recruit many strong trainers in their ranks. Some of them by bribery, others by brainwashing them with their doctrines... many of them through force or blackmail. They've been terrorising any who dared to oppose them for a while now. They've been operating in the shadows for quite a while but now, they're feeling confident and bold enough to openly defy the law."

Blue was listening to his grandfather's tale but honestly, it sounded way too crazy for him to believe it. It sounded like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Kanto had always been a peaceful region, at least in his lifetime. The worst it had seen was the band of petty and inept criminals that had been Team Rocket. How could a team or cult take over the region in just a few short weeks?

"You expect me to believe that?" he sneered. "Have you gone senile?"

"I couldn't be more serious, Blue," Samuel pressed firmly.

Blue snorted, kind of amazed that the old man would push the joke this far. "And why does that involve me? What does that have to do with that master ball? What, they wanna steal it to capture some legendary pokémon?"

"No..." Samuel corrected, gripping the round object firmly in his hand. "This master ball already has a pokémon inside. And you must take it across the border, to Johto, to keep it safely out of their grasp."

The young trainer glanced at the ball his grandfather was still handing to him, a voice inside his head reminding him that the old man was not the type to make up crazy stories for any reason. He was a man of science and of rationnal thinking. He didn't play games. Whatever was happening in Kanto, whoever this Team Omicron was, if it scared him this badly, it had to be a big deal.

Slowly, hesitantly, Blue took the master ball in his own hand. Samuel allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief.

"Keep it safe," Samuel instructed. "Don't let anyone see it. And whatever you do, do _not_ open it."

The gym leader was actually starting to get worried by the whole thing. "Gramps... What's in that pokéball?"

"I'll tell you later but there's no time. Go now, you must escape to Johto. You should be safe there, at least for a while."

"But why not just hide that thing somewhere? Why do I need to do this? I just came back!"

"I already told you, Blue..." Samuel whispered. "They're gathering as many strong trainers as they can. That means that they'll be coming for you!"

The young trainer was stunned into silence for a moment. Had he been in danger for a while without even knowing about it?

"What are you talking about?" he asked, as incredulous as he was worried.

"They're gonna try to capture you and get you to do what they want. You're one of the strongest trainers in the world."

"I have no intention of joining some psycho cult," Blue protested.

"If they catch you... you won't have a choice," Samuel said ominously. "That's why you need to escape right now. The police in Johto have already been alerted of their antics. They will likely not pursue you across the border. You and the pokémon should be safe there. Now, go!"

Samuel hurridely spun him around and opened the door of his office to push him out. "W-wait! Gramps! What am I supposed to do once I get into Johto? Am I supposed to hide out there for all eternity?"

"You go to my colleague, professor Elm's lab and you wait for me to contact you."

"Gramps..." Blue suddenly asked with furrowed brows.

"What?"

"If they're recruiting strong trainers to work for them... What happened to Red?"

Samuel shot him an apologetic look, seeming like he'd hoped his grandson wouldn't ask that question. "... I don't know. No one has seen him since this whole mess started to get out of control. His mother has disappeared, too."

Blue visibly became worried upon hearing the news but before he had a chance to question the old researcher any further, the latter continued to herd him out of the building.

"Don't you worry about that for the moment," Samuel dismissed his unspoken question, continuing to push him towards the lab's exit. "Go, now. You don't have any time to waste!"

Blue had so many questions flying around in his brain but he could tell his grandfather was done answering him for now and that he was adamant about him leaving immediately. Sensing his urgency, the youngest Oak put the master ball in his backpack reluctantly.

His confused eyes met with his grandfather's.

"You better not be lying to me, old man," he said, not sounding as harsh as he wanted to.

Just as he was about to walk out the front door, he was stopped by Samuel's voice.

"Blue..."

The blonde trainer turned around to see what he wanted. He absolutely did not expect the old man to take him into his arms and to hug him as if it was the last time they would see eachother. Blue froze, eyes wide in surprise. He remained petrified for a moment, unsure what to make of the gesture. Before he had a chance to snap out of it, Samuel let him go. The pokémon professor put a fatherly hand on his shoulder, his eyes full of sadness. Blue just stared back blankly.

"Be careful. Don't look back... and don't let them catch you."

Still dumbfounded by the unexpected display of affection, Blue nodded and exited the building. He soon heard Samuel shut the door behind him and suddenly, the gym leader found himself alone again in the deserted town with nothing but a cryptic mission and a mysterious pokéball in his backpack.

Without him truly realizing it, his gaze drifted towards his best friend's house. He hadn't noticed on his way into town, but the small cozy home had all of its curtains pulled and none of its lights were on. It was completely vacant. Just what had happened to Red and his mother, Margaret?

Although already knowing he wouldn't find them in there, the blonde trainer walked to the front porch and grabbed the doorknob, mildly surprised to find it unlocked. Quietly, he walked into the house, finding no signs of life, as he expected.

The house looked fine, if not a bit neglected. It visibly hadn't been cleaned in a while (Ms. Papenbrook had always been one clean freak) and there even were a few cobwebs here and there. It wasn't readily obvious that something was off, but the gym leader noticed that all the doors in the houses were open, even the wardrobes and kitchen cabinets. Almost as if... someone had wanted to make sure no one was hiding...

When Blue made his way to the second floor, he found all the doors open and the rooms empty. In Red's room, there were no signs of his pokéballs, his cap, or his easily recognizable yellow backpack.

His exploration not really yielding much information and remembering his grandfather's orders to leave as soon as possible, Blue left the house, shutting the front door behind him, trying to come up with an explanation for the disappearance of the owners. An unpleasant thought floated in the back of his mind. What if Red had been captured?

Suddenly worried about some unseen menace, the young trainer shook himself out of his grim thoughts and looked all around be to see if anyone was watching him. He saw nothing but houses with all the curtains pulled and empty streets.

Now, how was he gonna make it to Johto as quickly as possible?

After a bit of thinking, Blue unbuckled a pokéball from his belt and released his Aerodactyl. The fossil pokémon burst out of its capsule, letting out his characteristic high-pitched screech.

Going to Johto by air seemed like the soundest option. The rock-type was one of the fastest flying pokémon out there. Flying high-up in the clouds seemed like the best way to make it to the border undetected.

Mentally giving himself a pat on the back to motivate himself to move forward, the gym leader mounted his Aerodactyl like he once did as a kid with his Pidgeot before he grew too big for the bird to carry him, and a short command later, the dinosaur took off westward in a gust, flying swiftly in the cloudy sky of Kanto.

* * *

 _Isn't is ironic that Blue doesn't seem to take Team Rocket seriously...?_

 _Now, what the hell is in that master ball? And what happened to Red?_


	3. Crossing the border

_Here's a nice big chapter for you guys. I've worked hard on this one._

 _I'm not used to writing action scenes so I'd like to know if you think I pulled it off in this one._

 _Also, in case some of you don't know, Blue is 21 at this point._

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Crossing the border**

Things were going smoothly for Blue. So smooth in fact, that he was starting to wonder if this whole crazy story about a cultish team his grandfather had just told him was true or if he'd just imagined it. To hear just how much the old man was pressuring him to leave, it felt like there would be trouble within minutes of his arrival in Pallet Town and yet, half an hour later, he was still flying with his Aerodactyl just below the clouds and nothing was happening.

Blue was tempted more than a few times to turn back and just go home to his gym but weirdly, he didn't dare. Still, he promised himself he would get answers as soon as he landed in Johto. Not far now. Just ten more minutes and he would cross the border.

After five more minutes of uneventful flying, the young trainer began letting his thoughts wander, momentarily disconnecting himself from his surroundings.

What an insane story that was. He had seen and heard a whole lot of crazy and weird stuff along his many many travels but never something quite like this. It really came out of nowhere. He left Kanto just a few months ago and in just that short span of time, an evil cult has begun terrorising the populace enough to cause it to desert their homes.

Samuel's warning replayed through his mind. This Team Omicron was trying to recruit strong trainers by any means necessary which, according to the old man, meant that he was at risk of being captured. Blue was fairly confident that he could take on any criminal that came his way and for that reason, he told himself he wasn't too worried about Red. Except... that his mother, Margaret was also gone without a trace. Had the team captured them both and forced Red into their ranks by threatening his mother? Or did he manage to escape and take her to safety?

He was probably fine, he mentally repeated to himself. Red was not necessarily the most careful and well thought out guy in the world, but he was resourceful and a near invincible trainer. And even though he was usually as calm and peaceful as a lapras, anyone who dared to threaten his dear mother would face a tyranitar-like wrath. He was gonna try to contact his friend once he landed in Johto, Blue told himself.

As he was lost in thought, the gym leader did not notice a figure progressively getting bigger, heading straight towards him at first but his Aerodactyl pulled him out of it when he let out an apprehensive cry.

"Wha-? What's wrong?"

Blue scanned his surroundings to see if anything was off and he quickly spotted the silhouette flying towards him. It took a few seconds before he was able to make out what it was. Probably just some wild bird pokémon.

A few seconds later, he was able to distinguish a large orange body and two small green wings. A dragonite? What was a dragonite doing here?

The dragon seemed to be very deliberately trying to get to him which was unusual for the normally docile and gentle pokémon. Blue instinctively knew he had something to worry about when he saw a person perched on the pokémon's back. He felt the hair at the back of his neck stand on end.

Before the gym leader had a chance to analyse the situation, the dragon let out an ice beam aimed right at him.

 _What the fuck!?_ The young trainer barely managed to keep himself well seated on his pokémon's back as he narrowly dodged the unprovoked attack by making his Aerodactyl nose dive under it. The cold, luminous beam hit the air just centimeters from the top of his head. The rock-type cried out worriedly. Whoever was following them clearly had no friendly intentions.

Casting a quick look over his shoulder, Blue saw that his mysterious attacker had descended to his level and was tailing him closely. This had to be the people his grandfather had warned him about... And they were using an ice attack on his pokémon to bring a swift end to his flight. Out of the corner of his eye, Blue saw another stranger getting closer to him, riding a tropius. Two fearows without riders were closing in on each side, trying to squeeze him into a trap. _Oh yeah?_

Blue commanded his Aerodactyl to speed up and reduce their altitude in order to put some distance between them and his pursuers. Unsurprinsingly, they kept following him. The dragonite and the tropius kept using moves that were dangerous to his Aerodactyl, hurling rocks and spitting ice, which were very hard for Blue to dodge because he had to look behind him, and not in front of him, to see them coming. Battling them was not really an option.

Never had Blue tried to battle his flying pokémon while sitting on his back and it sounded so dangerous that he was not willing to give it a first try in an non-controlled situation and in what could very well be a life or death situation. He was still hundreds of meters in the air. He could still easily fall off. He had to protect his Aerodactyl at all cost, lest they both plummetted to their doom. There was only one goal in mind: make it across the border and hope that they wouldn't pursue him this far.

"Come on, faster! Faster!" Blue pressed his pokémon which sped up as fast as he could go without knocking his rider off.

His pursuers kept tailing him but the two fearows and the guy riding the tropius were unable to keep up with his speed and the gym leader saw them shrink in his field of vision. The one riding the dragonite, however, wouldn't be so easy to lose.

Dragonites were known to be able to fly at extraordinary speed and if the circumstances were right, it could even blow past an aerodactyl. But the rider wasn't trying to race him; he was trying to catch him.

The orange dragon dashed to close the distance between it and the fossil pokémon and they actually got so close that Blue could make out the facial traits of his pursuer.

Sensing the urgency, and knowing that he wouldn't likely be able to distance the dragon, he opted to do what slower flying pokémon did to evade their faster airborne predators: he attempted to outmanoeuver it with acrobatic stunts to dodge its attacks.

The young trainer had his aerodactyl turn sharply, dive suddenly or gain altitude and even perform loops in order to confuse and avoid his pursuer. As fast as it was, the dragonite was not as agile in the air as the dinosaur was and none of its attacks managed to hit their intended target.

Though Blue had never battled while riding his pokémon before, that didn't mean that he never tried anything dangerous with it. During his bolder adolescence days, he had performed some crazy and very risky stunts with his Aerodactyl; u-turns, dive bombs, loops... The most dangerous thing he had ever done was jump off of his Aerodactyl (without any sort of parachute, mind you) and have him catch him in mid-air. He only ever dared to do that once as it was frightening beyond measure to perform, even for an adrenaline junkie. All of these stunts required perfect obedience and communication between pokémon and trainer, as well as near perfect concentration to avoid slipping or making a wrong move. He had no saddles or any equipment to help keep him in place after all.

As he was concentrating very hard not to fall off of his pokémon, Blue had an idea and quickly released his Pidgeot, which immediately positionned himself next to him, awaiting his command. The gym leader had the bird fly himself just in front of his Aerodactyl in order to reduce the wind resistance and let them speed up without exhausting the rock-type too much. Blue then released his enormous Gyarados. The atrocious pokémon immediately flew towards the dragonite and began attacking it and its rider, biting and whipping his tail at it. It was enough of a distraction for the pursuer to almost completely stop to try and chase off the water dragon.

Blue smiled in satisfaction as he looked back at his ferocious water pokémon, who was giving the orange dragon a run for its money. Not far ahead of him, he could see mount Silver. The border was just a few minutes away. He was gonna make it!

That's what he though until, somewhere on his right, his peripheral vision caught sight of a bunch of rounded dark objects headed straight for him with the speed of a cannonball. Before he had a chance to do anything about it, the rock tomb hit his Aerodactyl's left wing head on and the gym leader heard a sickening crack along with the pained screech of the pokémon.

"Shit!"

The young trainer instinctively braced himself and held on to the fossil pokémon with all his might as he spiraled out of control and fell towards the ground after being attacked by a previously unseen ennemy.

As they were both plummetting towards the large forest that covered the border between Johto and Kanto, Blue, the wind furiously beating him and blinding him, thought that he needed to do something quick. His Aerodactyl was no longer able to fly. His Pidgeot was too small to carry him. He didn't have that many options.

Thinking fast, Blue managed to withdraw his Aerodactyl into his pokéball. As he was freefalling towards the ever closing up ground, the gym leader whistled for his Gyarados to come back to him, praying silently that he would make it in time.

He never thought a few seconds could go by so slow. The young man kept his eyes closed, bracing himself for his possible lethal crash land.

But instead of splattering into a puddle on the ground, Blue felt the hard, scaly body of his water dragon fly underneath him, slowly descelerating his fall until it was safe enough to pull up. His heart beating fast and hard against his ribs, Blue reflexively grabbed onto the ferocious creature's dorsal fins and only when he felt secure, did he open his eyes. He had been caught by his pokémon about 20 meters off the ground. That was a close one.

He didn't have the luxury to celebrate his survival. He was still being pursued.

Blue looked up above him to see if his attackers were still close. In the distance, high up above him, he could make out the silhouette of an infuriated dragonite as it was trying to swat and ice beam his Pidgeot away. The brave bird was valliantly trying to hold off the ennemy to protect his master and buy him some time. Blue smiled proudly at one of his oldest pokémon but he didn't want him risking his life.

"Pidgeot, come back!"

He carefully recalled the bird pokémon into its pokéball. He immediately saw his flying pursuer drop altitude in order to catch him again. This was getting way too dangerous, Blue decided. He contemplated disappointingly the proximity of the Johto border. The airspace around it was way too closely guarded by dangerously strong pokémon and their enigmatic handlers. Not wanting to endanger his pokémon and himself any further, Blue decided to abandon his attempt to cross by air and he commanded his Gyarados to descend amongst the trees under which his pursuers would lose sight of him.

* * *

Blue landed at the foot of Mount Silver, taking shelter under the trees. He withdrew his Gyarados and got his Aerodactyl out again to check on his condition.

The fossil pokémon had one of his wings bent at an unnatural angle and the creature was visibly in pain, judging by the small plaintive yelps it squeaked out. Blue crouched down to examine the injury with a closer look. The poor thing had received a rock slide right on the fragile membrane of his wing; a very dangerous thing for a flying pokémon, even one that had the rock type. It looked pretty painful; it probably felt like a broken arm for the ancient creature.

"Sorry, boy," Blue apologized, sighing and giving a sympathetic pat on Aerodactyl's massive lower jaw. "I did not expect that at all," he said, thinking out loud. "I did not see that _coming_ at all..."

As he stood up, the gym leader was left to ponder his grandfather's parting words.

This had surely been the Team Omicron the old researcher had warned him about. As afraid as he seemed to be of them, and despite all the warning signs he was given, he didn't take the threat they represented seriously. He had expected to cross into Johto without a hitch and to be contacted by his grandfather in the following days. He did not think it could be this dangerous.

This cultish team had made clear that they were no joke but Blue had to wonder how they were able to find him so quickly. They had seemingly been patrolling the area. It was as though they knew exactly where and when he would try to cross. As if they'd been waiting to ambush him. They apparently knew who he was on sight. That or they attacked everyone and everything that tried to cross into the Johto-Kanto airspace. It was unclear whether they had been trying to kill or capture him, or if they knew he had the master ball on his person but regardless, he obviously needed to be more careful and to find another way to make it over the border.

One of the options was by sea but it would be much slower and not necessarily safer, if only because of the unpredictable weather in the southern waters. And what's more, it was an unecessarily long detour just to make it to the edge of the water. The longer he stayed in Kanto, the more risks he faced to get caught. His first attempt had been a failure but he was still fairly close to the border. On a fast pokémon, it would be a matter of minutes to cross into Johto. No. Going by sea was a last resort. He was gonna have to try by land.

Blue put his attention back on his Aerodactyl. This journey had been so unexpected, not to mention so unexpectedly dangerous that he found himself woefully unprepared for the trouble he got. He didn't have anything on hand that could allow him to heal the rock-type's injuries and there was no time to go back to a pokémon center in Kanto.

Steeling his resolve, the young trainer pulled out Aerodactyl's pokéball.

"I promise I'll take you to a pokémon center as soon as I can," he told his pokémon before withdrawing him safely into his capsule.

There weren't a whole lot of his pokémon who could carry him on land faster than his own two legs could. He only carried six of them on his person. The rest were stored in the PC and would remain inaccessible until he got to one. Luckily, he had with him the only pokémon he owned that could carry him quickly on land. With a seriousness not unlike what he displayed before facing a challenger at his gym, he pulled out another pokéball from his belt.

"Arcanine! I need you!"

In a blinding white flash, the gigantic fire dog burst out of its ball, the hair of his fluffy cream-colored mane quivering in the wind.

When he started his career as a pokémon trainer, he'd been just a young boy. He walked most of the time to keep in shape and used his Pidgeot to carry him when he needed to get somewhere quickly. However, when he got hit with his first growth spurt, he quickly got too big and too heavy for the bird, who had a mere one and a half meter wingspan and barely weighed 40kg, to carry him. He hadn't caught (or more accurately, revived) his Aerodactyl until a few years later so, in the meantime, he had had to think outside of the box to find a new means of transportation.

His long time partner, the legendary pokémon Arcanine, had become his new steed. The fire type was taller than the average man and almost three times his weight; plenty big and strong enough to carry him on his back. It had taken a bit of training; riding an arcanine was not a common practice, but he had managed to do it, and do it efficiently too.

The fire dog was able to hit top speeds of 417km/h on a flat surface which made it one of the best runners in the pokémon world and while no human would be able to stay on an arcanine's back at this speed without being strapped to it, Blue had the occasion to test how fast he could push his pokémon without falling off. If the situation really called for it, he could make it to at least 200km/h.

Making sure his backpack was well attached and his pokéballs secured to his belt, Blue gracefully jumped on his Arcanine's back in a well practiced motion.

"We need to cross over into Johto and we need to do it fast," he instructed to the canine. "There are ennemies trying to catch us so you must be careful."

Blue was fairly certain that using one of the main roads would be a terrible idea. They were certainly expecting him there and lying in wait to ambush him. It didn't guarantee him safe passage, but he prefered to try his luck using a lesser known remote path in the forest. There was a bridge built over a small river that would take him right into Johto. If he could make it across that bridge, he would be safe.

"Let's go," he commanded.

Arcanine immediately started running at a moderate speed, covering impressive ground in little time with his epically long strides. Many said an arcanine's run made it look like it was flying. That's what it felt like, too, sitting on its back, Blue thought. The beast ran through the forest with ease, following his master's directions like the trained fighter that it was.

* * *

As Arcanine made his way down the secluded path that would lead them out of Kanto, conceiled under the lush green canopy, Blue kept throwing glances around him to see if anyone was in the vicinity, following them. It was hard to make out the shapes at the speed they were travelling at but he saw nothing suspicious so far. However, he had learned his lesson. He had no intention of celebrating early. Just because they hadn't come across any trouble yet didn't mean that it wouldn't surface at the last second to bite him in the ass. For that reason, Blue mentally prepared himself for an ambush.

The dirt path eventually took a sharp right turn which led them to the edge of the forest. The trees were soon behind them and the vegetation turned to an abundance of weeds and bushes which surely were home to many bug pokémon. The almost forgotten path they were using was slowly being covered by the wild vegetation in the area.

Blue could see in front of them that the bridge was visible on the horizon, perhaps one or two kilometers away and on the other side, the wide grassy fields of Johto ondulated in the wind as if calling to him. He was close. In less than a minute, he'd be safe.

Unfortunately, bad luck seemed to follow him wherever he went and Blue heard the thunder of a multitude of hooves not far behind him. One quick look behind his shoulder confirmed his suspicions. He had been spotted again. Another pack of these annoying cultists, riding rapidashes and tauros were chasing him. Clenching his teeth in annoyance, Blue refused to waste any more time with them. He was too close to the finish line to stop and take them out one by one.

"Faster, Arcanine!"

He took the risk to speed up, despite the fact that he was putting himself in danger of falling off. The gym leader laid flat on his fire dog's back, like a professionnal rapidash racer would, clutching Arcanine's mane between his fingers and squeezing the pokémon's body between his thighs with all his strength to keep himself in place. He could hear his pursuers tailing him closely.

Their tauros didn't stand a chance to catch up to his Arcanine but the rapidashes might do it if he wasn't careful. The legendary dog's top speed was almost twice that of a rapidash's but the gym leader couldn't possibly stay on if his Arcanine hit it. The speed he was going at right now was probably the highest he could go without flying off like a hat in a sudden gust.

To his horror, in his peripheral vision, he could see one of the ennemies catching up and positionning the fire horse right next to Arcanine. And for a split second, Blue could make out the cold and evil glare of a middle-aged woman staring right at him. He saw her reach for something behind her back. The young trainer did not wait to see what it was. The bridge was just a few seconds away.

As his Arcanine was kicking up clumps of dirt in the air and the rapidash flanking him was trying to get as close as possible, Blue waited for just the right moment took the risk to kick the woman in the ribs as soon as she got close enough. The bold move seriously upset Blue's balance and he almost fell off his pokémon but it had the desired effect. The surprised woman was caught off guard and took the blow which broke her concentration and almost made her fall off as well. This made her steed slow down just enough for Blue to gain distance.

The gym leader couldn't help but smirk at how infuriated she looked. His joy was short lived as he saw the bridge right in front of him... and it was collapsed, leaving an almost fifteen meter gap filled with sharp pieces of wood and rusted metal right above the river! Blue's heart nearly stopped.

" **Fuck!** "

The blonde trainer had the reflex to try and stop his Arcanine before he fell into the deadly waters below, pulling on his mane with all his might but to his surprise and momentary terror he felt the fire dog leap. Holding on for dear life, Blue watched with wide panicked eyes as the river scrolled by below them while both trainer and pokémon flew into the air.

Before he had a chance to process what had just happened, Arcanine's front legs touched the other side of the bridge.

It took him a few seconds but Blue eventually realized that they had made it into Johto. He brough his Arcanine to a stop.

His hair a complete mess and his breath short, Blue glanced behind him, at the enormous gap that his pokémon had just jumped. And he laughed at his own foolishness for doubting him at all. His fire-type could easily clear a fifteen meter gap; arcanines were known for their extraordinary jumping ability. Even though his reflex had been to stop, which probably would have gotten them caught or have had him fall down into the river, his Arcanine had used its own judgment and, confident in his own ability, had deliberately disobeyed his master to protect him. Blue proudly patted his dog on the side.

As they both tried to catch their breath, Blue glanced behind him again and he saw his pursuers stop at the edge of the broken bridge. There were about half a dozen of them, all looking thoroughly displeased. Either they didn't want to risk the jump over the river or they didn't want to cross into another region for fear of the legal repercussions but they didn't try to pursue any further.

Blue spotted the same woman who had nearly caught him just a few seconds earlier. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties. Her chin length hair was a pale blond and her cold, unfriendly eyes were of a steely gray. She, more than the others, showed some serious rage and frustration to have had her target avoid capture. She darted at him the most murderous glare one could give.

The young trainer, however was unphased by it. He shot back at them his signature victorious smirk and, not before giving them a well deserved middle finger, he spurred his Arcanine into a confortable trot into the Johto region.

* * *

 _Have we ever seen a Gyarados fly? Not that I know of. Still, it's a flying type for whatever reason so screw that, I had it fly in this chapter._

 _See you all next time!_


	4. Change of scenery

_Sorry this took so long to make. I've been in training for a new job the whole week and it's been sucking away all of my energy and I did almost nothing for the whole week._

 _I know a lot of you all are wondering if we're going to follow Blue for this entire story. Let me reassure you and tell you that no, Blue will not be the only protagonist. Eventually, many more characters will be involved, most notably Red, but for the moment, it will be Blue because I am still building up suspence and creating a "what the hell is going on" atmosphere. We're only at the beginning of the story._

 _By the way, the more I think about it, the more I would advise you read Invisible before continuing with this one if you haven't already. It's not required to understand this story, but it will make the main characters, their personnalities and their relashionships much more profound and enjoyable. It will probably make this story at least 50% more enjoyable._

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Change of scenery**

Arcanine kept running at a swift but comfortable pace into the fields of southern Johto. Perched on his back, Blue watched his surroundings carefully but they'd been in the country for about half an hour now, and nothing bad had happened to them. It seemed like it was just as his grandfather had said: Team Omicron's influence hadn't reached the region yet. The gym leader wanted to assume this meant he was safe there, at least for a while.

Blue had been to Johto multiple times before and he knew the place almost as well as he did his home region of Kanto. His first priority was to reach a pokémon center to heal his poor Aerodactyl's wing. Knowing there was none in New Bark Town, the closest settlement, the young trainer ran right past it to go straight to route 46. He stopped among the tall grass on the edge of the path for a moment before letting himself be seen in the open.

He could see a few people walking by on the road, minding their own business. Probably travellers or hobbyist trainers. They didn't seem to be looking for anyone, so Blue paid them no more mind, seeing as they likely posed little threat. It was the first sign of non-hostile human life he had seen since returning from his trip, excluding his old grandfather. For some reason, it reminded him that perhaps it would be better if he didn't attract too much attention and didn't do anything that would make him stand out. One could never be too careful.

Following that train of thought, Blue dismounted his Arcanine and put him back into his pokéball. The gym leader looked down at himself to see if anything about him could grab attention.

Being a former champion, one of the strongest trainers of his time and the most successful gym leader in the history of Kanto, Blue was very famous all around the world, especially around Kanto and Johto, and since he'd never been shy about grabbing the public's attention before, many people recognized him on sight alone.

Now, normally, Blue was all too happy to receive praise and admiration from his many fans but in a situation such as the one he was in right now, being a celebrity was a pretty serious hindrance. His pursuers had already proved without a doubt that they knew what he looked like.

Right now, he wore faded blue jeans with a belt and a steel belt buckle, a short-sleeved button-down black shirt and on top of it, his favorite black leather jacket. His travelling outfit of choice was pretty casual; nothing that would particularly attract the eye, however, his wild orange hair was shining brightly in the afternoon sun and was perhaps the feature that stood out the most on him. That, and his unique hairstyle, made him easily recognizable, especially if someone was specifically looking for him. The gym leader thought to himself that it might be a good idea to stop by a clothes store and buy a few items like a cap or something, that could help conceal his identity a little better.

The gym leader stepped onto the actual route 46 with his usual confidence but remaining vigilant and quiet. He avoided making eye contact with anyone and walked quickly but without looking like he was in a hurry until he reached the intersection of route 29. He headed west at that point and within thirty minutes or so, he was in Cherrygrove City.

All looked normal in the town. Life seemed to go on as usual for the citizens. Nobody was scared or tense. It was a stark contrast with the atmosphere he had witnessed in Pallet Town. As if to emphasize the difference, the clouds in the sky above seemed to part, letting through a bit of late afternoon sunlight.

Blue did not waste any time and headed straight for the local pokémon center. The nurse that was currently on duty recognized him and greeted him enthusiastically. The young trainer remained friendly but kept their conversation brief.

"I'd like to rest and heal my pokémon," he requested.

The strawberry blonde left his fossil pokémon in her care but decided to keep all of his other pokémon with him, just in case he needed an urgent getaway or something to defend himself. It would take a few hours for the flying pokémon to be completely healed so, seeing from the clock hung above the exit door that it was nearing 8 pm, Blue decided that he would get him back tomorrow morning.

Before he got caught up in that whole crazy cult story, he'd actually been heading back home from a long road trip. Since he slept outside most of the time, he'd gotten used to waking up as soon as the sun rose. They were currently in the middle of the summer which meant that the sun rose at around 5 am. To put it simply, Blue was very tired, like most people got after returning from a long trip. The fact that he had spent the best part of the day running for his life just added to the exhaustion he was feeling right now. Now that his adrenaline levels had dropped back to a normal level, he was left with his muscles feeling weak and drained of their strength.

 _I could use some rest_ , the gym leader thought to himself.

He left the pokémon center without talking to anyone else and went looking for an inn. He thought he remembered there being one near the edge of the sea, west of town. He found it without trouble and got himself a room for the night. The gym leader immediately climbed up the stairs to reach it. He locked the door behind him.

The room was small but cozy, with wooden furniture and brightly colored walls and curtains. Through the only window, Blue had an amazing view of the sea and it looked like he was just in time to see the sun disappear behind the waves on the horizon. He fished out his cellphone from his pocket and tried to call his grandfather at home and at work. Although it wasn't exactly surprising, it was still very disappointing to get no answer. He then tried to call Red's phone with the same result. The young trained sighed.

Blue removed his jacket and carelessly threw it on a nearby chair. He kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt to make himself more comfortable. He walked up to the window and opened it. The cool sea breeze floated in, caressing the exposed skin of his chest and playing with his spiky hair. As he listened to the soothing sound of the waves rolling onto the beach, he thought about the many strange events that had transpired today.

He thought about his deserted hometown and about where all of its inhabitants could have gone. He wondered why his grandfather was seemingly the only one left behind. What had become of Kanto during his absence?

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried, even a little bit, for his home region but he knew too little about the threat that was looming to decide if he should be more or less wary. He just hoped he would be contacted by his grandfather soon, so he could tell him where the hell he was supposed to go from here. While he waited here, he'd decided that tomorrow, he was going to investigate and watch the news in Johto. Surely, someone out there knew what was going on more than he did.

He wondered just who this Team Omicron was, and where they came from. Who were these people who had attacked him in the sky? And what about those who chased him all the way to the border? How did they find him so fast?

Samuel had told him that the nefarious team had been recruiting strong trainers, sometimes by force, to help them serve their interests, whatever they were. That was one of the reasons they had been chasing after him. What other strong trainers had they managed to catch? The Elite Four? Other gym leaders? And what about Red?

Blue knew full well that his former rival could hold his own in a battle; the silent fallen champion was one of the only two people who ever inflicted him a defeat after all, but despite that, he couldn't help but be worried for him and his kind-hearted mother. Red wasn't invincible (no trainer was, really) and the gym leader also knew him to be impulsive and to get himself in trouble on a regular basis because he was quick to jump into a dangerous situation without thinking. Red followed his heart more than his brain and this was but one of the major differences between them.

The fact that his mother, Margaret Papenbrook, was also gone without a trace was especially worrying.

Having been abandonned at a young age by his father and having no siblings, Red had mostly grown up with and been raised by his mother. Margaret had cared for her only son all by herself and there were many points during their difficult lives were she had seriously struggled to make ends meet. She was as caring, dedicated and loving as a mother could be and she had done everything in her power to raise her son to become a good man. Red was all she had. For that reason, she was the most precious person in his life. Red loved his mother profoundly and would fight to the death to protect her. Having lost his own mother at only five years old, Blue had always been deeply envious of his neighbor for having her.

If Team Omicron had gotten their hands on Margaret Papenbrook, chances were, Red would put himself in danger to rescue her. The cult could easily threaten the woman to get her son to obey, so Blue hoped they had managed to escape somewhere else like he did. He hoped they hadn't been captured or killed.

Knowing he wouldn't get any answers to his questions tonight, the gym leader stepped away from the window to prepare for the night. As he rummaged through his backpack to fetch his toothbrush, his fingers made contact with a round metal object which left him surprised for a split second. And then, he remembered.

Blue pulled out the mysterious master ball from his backpack. He examined the object thoughtfully.

As he stared at it, many more thoughts swirled into his head. What was in that master ball? Why did his grandfather task him to carry it, especially since, as far as he knew, that was the main reason danger followed at his back? Why did Team Omicron want it so badly?

Of course, he was tempted to open it, but the pokémon professor had made it clear that he shouldn't ever do it under any circumstances. Why? He didn't know. But he could theorize that it could be because whatever pokémon was inside of it was dangerous. The most plausible and likely reason was that it contained a dangerous pokémon that Team Omicron wanted to use as a weapon of some sort (it had been attempted many times before by ill intentionned criminals) but of course, it could be something completely different.

Obviously, since someone had captured that pokémon with a master ball, which were already very rare and hard to come by, it was very important and whoever caught it clearly didn't want it to have a chance to escape.

Blue huffed in annoyance and stuffed the thing back into his bag, after which he slid it under the bed. He went to brush his teeth in the bathroom and once he was done, he walked back into the room, letting himself plop down on the bed. The temperature was warm enough that he didn't feel the need to use the blankets, so he just let himself lie on top of the covers, still in his regular clothes (he never brought pajamas on his travels since any unnecessary item was a hindrance to have to carry), although he did get rid of his socks. Crossing his arms behind his head, he allowed himself to finally rest and move on from the events of the day.

The gym leader had made sure to keep his cellphone on, close by on the nightstand, just in case his grandfather contacted him like he said he would. He also kept the switchblade he always carried well in reach, just in case...

* * *

The next morning, Blue awoke naturally a little later than he was used to, at around 8 am. His sleep had been light, as a part of his mind had remained on guard for any danger, but nevertheless, he felt well rested and much better than yesterday.

Groggily rolling over to his side and reaching for the nightstand, he checked his phone to see if he'd missed any calls or messages but was disappointed to see that no one had tried to contact him. The gym leader sighed and sat up, rubbing his tired eyes. He had to think about what he was going to do while he waited to be contacted by his grandfather. He remembered the old man telling him something about going to his colleague, professor Elm's lab. Why? He didn't say but Blue figured maybe the man could shed a little bit of light on the mystery surrounding that master ball and Team Omicron.

At the same time, the young trainer reminded himself that it might be a good idea to get a few supplies in order to be more incognito and to deal with possible emergencies. A few potions for his pokémon wouldn't hurt either.

Blue took a quick shower and changed into the only other set of clothes he travelled with (a white t-shirt with a stylized image of an arcanine and a pair of gray jeans). Cherrygrove City was calm and peaceful at this time. It was the weekend and most people were still taking the opportunity to stay in bed a little longer. There was just a little bit of circulation.

The young trainer walked outside without rushing, his pokéball belt tied neatly to his hip. He didn't feel nervous but he definetly paid more attention to his surroundings, although nothing and no one seemed threatening.

The first thing he did was go back to the pokémon center to pick up his fully healed Aerodactyl. The damage to his wing had been nothing that couldn't be repaired and the fossil pokémon was ready to fly again, although Blue told himself that he'd give him a break and only use him if he needed a quick escape.

Afterwards, he went to a small café to get himself something to eat and then went to a clothing store. Looking for something to conceal his identity, especially his hair, he went looking for a hat or a cap. He saw one particular red cap that immediately reminded him of his long-time rival and good friend and he let out a small laugh. _No way I'm wearing something like that..._

Moving on to another spot, Blue found a simple black beanie. He never liked to wear stuff like that; his hair was way too fabulous to hide from the world but in the situation he was currently in, that's exactly what he needed to do and a beanie would do a better job hiding his strawberry blonde spikes that any hat, so he went for it. He also got himself a charcoal hoodie for maximum discretion.

Another thing he thought might be a good idea was to get himself something to defend himself, other than his pokémon. Since the day he had left on his pokémon journey in pursuit of the champion's throne, Blue had carried a switchblade his grandfather had given him before his departure. The world could be a dangerous place, especially for a ten year old travelling all by himself so he had carried it with him in his pocket or in his boot for all these years just in case he ran into any trouble while his pokémon weren't available to help. Thankfully, he never had to use it for self defense purposes before but then again, he never had to run from a bunch of crazy cultish kidnappers and since they had proven themselves to be fairly decent trainers with strong pokémon at their disposal, a weapon a little more threatening than a switchblade might not be a bad idea.

Firearms weren't his thing, plus it wasn't exactly legal, but he got to a store that offered a nice selection of knives, most of which were intended for hunting or to be survival tools. He went for a survival knife with a black blade and a clip point, ideal for piercing through flesh. The base of the blade had jagged teeth like a steak knife to saw through things like wood or rope. The blade itself was a respectable 25 cm in length and was beautifully sharp and sturdy. The grip was made of a good quality rubber to prevent slips. It even came with a leather sheath that could be tied to a belt but since carrying such a weapon in public could make a lot of people uncomfortable, he wouldn't wear it like that until he was out of populated areas.

After he bought a few potions and other basic medical supplies for his pokémon and himself, the gym leader told himself it was time to go see professor Elm and find out what he had to say about his cryptic quest.

Blue made it to New Bark Town without any hitch and found the small village lively, with most of its inhabitants busying themselves outside to soak in the morning sun. Once again, it certainly was reminiscent of Pallet Town... well, Pallet Town before it was inexplicably deserted. The atmosphere in Johto was so calm and happy; it was hard to believe that just a few kilometers from here, across the river, the neighboring region was in silent turmoil.

Avoiding interaction with the villagers, probably leaving a 'rude stranger' impression, the gym leader quickly made his way to the laboratory where he would hopefully find the local professor.

He didn't knock; he didn't care. He just walked right in like he usually did when he wanted to get somewhere, with little regard for those he might surprise or bother. Sure enough, a few lab hands jumped upon his entrance, interrupted in their work and looking up at the front door to see who was bothering them. The young trainer ignored the displeased looks he was given by a few people (like a couple of nerds would scare him... pff!) and walked confidently between the desks and high-tech machines, to the middle of the room.

When he was pretty sure he had gotten everyone's attention, seeing as everyone had stopped working and was staring at him, he started talking.

"I'm looking for professor Elm."

A few seconds went by during which no one said anything. They seemed wary of his presence and debating about whether they should point him in the right direction or not. Blue had to roll his eyes with impatience.

"Come on, I haven't got all day!" he insisted, clapping his hands and talking to the supposedly highly educated scientists like they were mentally challenged kids.

"Who's asking?" asked a slightly worried-sounding masculine voice behind his shoulder.

Blue turned around to see a labcoat wearing middle-aged man with rounded glasses staring back at him. He had gotten up from his desk, which was covered in disorganised papers and had all kinds of office supplies strewned about. Even the man's short brown hair was a mess.

Blue had heard about professor Elm on multiple occasions, mostly for his research on pokémon breeding and abilities and his thesis on pokémon evolution, but had never actually met the man. His grandfather, who had taught him a lot of his scientific knowledge had mentionned him many times throughout his lectures. Samuel had a lot of respect for him and his research but seeing the scrawny, pale and apparently scatterbrained man in front of him, Blue was not exactly impressed. That's not the kind of image he expected for a world-renowned researcher to project. But he wasn't there to make friends. There were more important matters at hand.

"The name's Blue Oak. I've been told to come find you by my grandfather."

As the rest of the lab hands remained silent, listening to the conversation, professor Elm's eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. He was not expecting that apparently.

"You are Samuel Oak's grandson?" he asked, not hiding his surprise.

Blue nodded and the scientist grew serious.

"How did you make it here?" he asked.

The gym leader didn't have much patience, given the trouble he had gone through to make it here, for reasons he didn't even fully understand, so he cut the interrogation short.

"My gramps told me to come find you," he repeated, deliberately ignoring the question. "I have something important to discuss with you and I don't have a lot of time to waste on chit chat."

Blue hoped the older man would get the message and hold his questions. Professor Elm seemed caught off guard and hesitant, so the gym leader took his backpack in his hands and pulled out the master ball his grandfather had entrusted him with, showing it for all to see.

"I was hoping you might tell me a thing or two about this," he said, holding back his growing impatience.

Upon seeing the purple ball in his hand, professor Elm gasped, and them rubbed his chin pensively. Aware that all of his assistants were watching and listening intently to the conversation, the scientist opted to oblige the hotheaded youth's demands.

"I see... Follow me to my office, if you please."

* * *

 _What's in the master ball? Bets are open!_


	5. The plot thickens

_Thank you all who have reviewed. Hope you like this one!_

 _I'm sorry guys... I know the last chapter was kind of... uneventful, but it was necessary to set up the plot. But now, this aptly named chapter has a lot of important information going on. I'm curious what you guys are going to think about it._

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The plot thickens**

"How did you make it across the border?" professor Elm insisted on knowing.

He and Blue were standing in his office, away from prying ears. The fact that the researcher was this surprised about his presence in Johto seemed to indicate that at least some people in the region were aware that something not right was going on in Kanto. It used to be no trouble to cross the border between the two regions, as their relations were pretty peaceful before, but things had evidently changed lately.

Blue had way more important questions to ask so he wasn't really inclined to answer but he did anyway, reasoning that he would have the information he needed sooner of later... even if he had to bitch-slap it out of him.

"It wasn't easy. I almost got my Aerodactyl and myself killed trying to fly over. I managed to get in by land, with my Arcanine."

Professor Elm removed his glasses and rubbed the lenses with his shirt to clean it.

"We haven't had any news from Kanto in weeks now," he explained. "All communication seems to have been cut. It's like the region's been completely closed off. No one from Kanto has been able to get out and tell us what was going on. And the people who have risked going into it have never returned to tell the tale. That's why I am very surprised to see you here."

The man's concern seemed to be genuine, which calmed the gym leader's impatience a bit. After all, he wanted just as badly to know what was happening to his home region.

"What _is_ going on over there?" the older man asked, eyes wide.

Blue shook his head in disappointment. The man didn't know any more than he did.

"I was hoping you could tell me," he said, sighing loudly. "I've been away on a trip for a while and when I came back to Pallet Town, everyone had run away except my gramps. I don't know what's going on or why. All I do know is that this whole thing has apparently been caused by these Team Omicron motherfuckers."

"... Omicron?" the scientist curiously repeated.

"My old man told me that they're some sort of cultish team that have been terrorising people and recruiting strong trainers to add to their ranks, using force if necessary. What their ultimate goal for doing this is, I don't know, but he told me I needed to escape to Johto as soon as possible so they wouldn't catch me."

Professor Elm scratched his head thoughtfully but didn't add anything.

"He also gave me this master ball," Blue added, showing the man the spherical object again. "He told me to never ever open it and to never let Team Omicron have it. He told me to take it to you"

The professor stared at it intently but again, remained silent. His suspicious behavior was enough to make Blue impatient again.

"Can we cut to the chase, already?" he insisted, slamming the master ball on the desk loudly, making the other man jump a little. "I saw your reaction when I showed you this in the lab. You know what's in there so you might as well tell me right now so we can think of a way to figure out what these crazy assholes are up to!"

Visibly a little intimidated by the young trainer's harshness, professor Elm took a few steps back to sit on his chair, strategically putting his wooden desk between them. Tugging at his collar nervously, he eventually finally spoke.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, my boy, but I don't know what's in there any more than you do."

Blue froze for a second. "... You're kidding right?"

"N-no..."

"How stupid do you think I am!?" he barked suddenly. "You know what's in there; it's written all over your face! I risked my life and my pokémon's to get this thing out of Kanto and I want to know why! (the gym leader slammed the master ball down on the desk again, leaning closer to the older man, glaring at him) Now, spill the beans before I lose my patience!"

"I don't know what's in that pokéball, I swear!" the man defended himself.

Although he seemed sincere, Blue could sense that there was something he wasn't telling him, so he narrowed his eyes suspiciously, which had the desired effect of making the researcher even more uncomfortable (and people tended to be more inclined to talk when that happened). It took a few seconds until he spoke again.

"Well, since you are professor Oak's grandson... and that you're the only one who's managed to escape Kanto ever since this whole mess started, I suppose I can tell you what I know about Team Omicron."

Satisfied, Blue straightened up and casually sat down on the chair facing him, unapologetically putting his feet on the desk to get back at him for wasting his precious time. He then crossed his arms in a clear 'I'm waiting' fashion.

A heavy sigh later, professor Elm began his story.

"About twenty years ago, a group of field researchers looking to study snorunts, glalies and froslass, happened upon the frozen remains of an unknown pokémon, somewhere in the mountains up north. The specimen was brought back for study and it was found that it was actually the remains of a pokémon that we'd never knew existed. Carbon dating showed that this creature lived a very long time ago; long before humans even existed but not much else was known about it. A group of elite scientists, which included your grandfather, was selected to study this pokémon."

Blue had yet to figure out what this had to do with Team Omicron but he kept his mouth shut and paid close attention, especially at the mention of his grandfather.

"The pokémon, which was codenamed Takenga until more was discovered about it, was found to have had developped a very unique and incredible survival method. In its natural state, this pokémon was very small and feeble and seemed to have very limited means to feed and defend itself. It was also hypothetised that this creature had a very primitive level of intelligence; that was, not really self-aware or capable of abstract thinking. It was apparently a pokémon that acted purely on instinct. But it had found a solution to counter its own weakness and primitiveness. This creature would actually find itself another pokémon and would 'merge' with it."

The gym leader was following the story without any trouble until he got to that part.

"What? _Merge_? What the hell does that mean?"

"It would find a host pokémon and fuse itself to it on a cellular level making it impossible to separate them. They would become one singular entity, with one brain and one heart, just like a regular pokémon. In doing so, the takenga would gain all the physical and mental capabilities of the pokémon it merged with, drastically increasing its chances of survival. We don't know what type it was, but it may have had powers of its own that would be added to the host's."

Even Blue had to admit that it was one of the weirdest and most incredible stories he had ever heard, but again, he was left wondering what this had to do with his current predicament.

"It was eventually found that there were still traces of DNA in the takenga's remains and some of the researchers started playing with the idea of using it to clone a specimen to bring it back to life to study it, most of them were opposed to the idea because of its questionnable morality and its possible risks. Shortly after that, the takenga remains were stolen."

"You think it could be Team Omicron's doing?" Blue asked, his curiosity now truly peaked.

"Very few people were even aware of the takenga's existence so it most certainly was one of the researchers who studied it that stole it," professor Elm explained. "And it's not long after the theft that Team Omicron started making trouble. I find this to be an odd coincidence, don't you? I don't have any evidence to back it up but... It would make this all make sense, I think."

Blue's suspicions immediately went to his grandfather. The young trainer had always had a complicated and rocky relashionship with his father's father, to say the least. There was hardly any trust between them, and whatever affection there might have been was far outweighed by resentment.

After his parents' untimely death, Blue was left in the care of Samuel and with him being his sole guardian, the young boy had developped a strong need to be acknowledged and appreciated by the man. However, losing his parents had changed him and turned him into a rambunctions, angry, rebellious and arrogant boy, which had caused a lot of friction between them, as Samuel was a man who valued calm, order and discipline.

The gap between them was further widened by the presence of Red in their lives. Samuel had taken a liking to the red-capped boy, which he saw as something more akin to the grandson he would've wanted to have, and later, the exemplary pokémon trainer who treated his team with love and respect. Red's silent, docile and polite nature was a stark contrast with his and Samuel's obvious prefenrence for him had caused Blue some serious insecurities and jealeousy growing up.

Though he and Red had worked out their differences over the years, his relashionship with his grandfather never really recovered and although they could now hold a conversation without arguing, which would not have been a possibility a few years ago when he was a teenager, there was a constant mistrust between them and the grudge Blue had against Samuel was never really solved.

In the eyes of the general public, famous researcher Samuel Oak was a man of good morals, as well as a generous and patient individual. However, Blue saw him in a whole other light and there was a part of him that was convinced that the old man had a more shady side to him that people didn't know about.

"Do you... have an idea of who it could be?" he asked, trying to look like he didn't already have a suspect in mind.

"I was not really a part of this research group. I only know what I just told you. I hadn't heard of the takenga until after it disappeared. It was professor Oak who told me about it."

That part made sense, Blue thought. His grandfather had been the one to tell him to seek professor Elm, after all. But why?

If Samuel had been the one to steal the takenga away, one would assume he wouldn't want to be caught. It really all depended on what the intent was behind the theft. Did he want to steal it to keep it safe from bad people like Team Omicron? Or on the contrary, did he have morally questionnable plans with it himself and didn't want to be discovered? Either way, the old man clearly wanted him to find out about it by pointing him in Elm's direction.

This mysterious ancient pokémon, which had strange but still mostly unknown abilities was possibly in the possession of Team Omicron and they apparently intended to clone it, but despite the fact that they knew it could merge with other living creatures, there was very little evidence that this pokémon was strong or would in any way be more useful to a nefarious cult than current pokémon could be. Why would they want it so bad, and use so many resources if they knew so little about what it could actually do? Unless they knew something about the takenga the rest of the world didn't know, it didn't make sense.

Damnit. This was the one time in his life where he really would have wanted to speak with his grandfather. Why did he send him here? Why did he want him to know about this? Where was the takenga now, and why should he care?

If the thief hadn't been his grandfather, then the next most logical explanation was that it was one of the researchers who wanted to clone the ancient pokémon. Or someone who wanted to prevent them from doing so. Now, he was going in circles and it infuriated him!

What if someone had managed to clone it already and that it was that very clone he was carrying in that master ball? The old Samuel might have stolen the completed clone to keep it from Team Omicron but when he saw that Kanto was no longer safe, enlisted the help of his grandson to take it away somewhere safe, which seemed to indicate that he wasn't the bad guy in the story... Maybe...

Blue wanted to get answers now, more than ever but the only person who could provide them couldn't be contacted and if professor Elm was to be believed, going back to Kanto was not an option anymore, because no one who set foot in there was ever able to go back out.

So, the gym leader found himself back at square one: waiting in Johto for the old researcher to contact him. All he learned was a possible answer for the contents of the master ball and a vague idea of what Team Omicron's objective was. However, the idea of just sitting there waiting for a call that might never happen was not an idea he was fond of. Maybe he couldn't go back to Kanto but he could at least conduct a little investigation while he was reasonably safe in the neighboring region.

"You wouldn't happen to have a few of the names of those researchers who studied the... thing?" he asked.

He figured a good point to start would be to research all of the potential suspects to see if any of them he would recognize. Then, maybe he could track down the culprit and get the answers he needed.

"Well, I have a copy of the research papers that professor Oak sent me a while back. It might not be the most up to date but I'm sure you will find the names of all the people involved."

The professor got up and went to one of his bookshelves, browsing through one of the top rows until he found what he was looking for, in the form of an ordinary-looking green notebook. He handed it over to Blue, who also got up, intrigued to see what was in there.

"So um, what will you do now?" professor Elm asked curiously.

"Now?" the gym leader said out loud while flipping through the pages. "I'm going to try and find out what Team Omicron wants and what's their deal with that takenga thing. It sure beats sitting there doing nothing. Smell you later, professor!"

With that, he turned heels, waving a lazy hand above his shoulders, to exit the professor's office. The latter could only watch with worry as the young man walked away, unsure of whether he realized how dangerous the situation he was getting into was. _Oh dear..._

* * *

Notebook in hand, Blue decided to make his way to the town's library, where he would most certainly find a computer to do some research. As he turned the corner around the lab, he almost ran head first into a passerby but stopped himself at just the right moment before their skulls collided.

"Hey, watch it!" he snapped, not actually caring about who was to blame for the almost collision.

The person he almost ran into was an ordinary looking man but he seemed to maintain eye contact for a second too long, which was enough to make Blue suspicious. Not to mention the man didn't even say anything; to apologize or to snap back at him.

There was a moment of silence before the gym leader got sick of being stared at wordlessly.

"Get out of my way," he growled, pushing the man aside with the back of his hand.

The young trainer continued on his way without looking back at the weirdo but as he headed towards the library, he was displeased to have to ponder about whether this had just been a random weird encounter like he'd had many times during his travels or...

This man just happened to wander around the lab just as he was coming out of it and he stared at him a little too long. _They_ couldn't have followed him to Cherrygrove city... could they?

The fact that the man did nothing upon seeing him might suggest that he was just a random bystander, or if he was not, that he hadn't recognized him. Either way, Blue thought it wise to put on his beanie, pull his hood over his head and zigzag a little bit between blocks on his way to the library to confuse an eventual pursuer. Only after he'd gone in circles three times did he enter the small building, after making sure no one was looking his way.

* * *

The gym leader spent several hours at a desk in a secluded corner of the library, reading the notebook from beginning to end. Most of it wasn't really interesting and just talked about various observations and tests conducted on the takenga remains. Only a few passages held his interest (somewhat) and talked about the pokémon's supposed ability to 'merge' with another living thing, which made Blue wonder if Team Omicron wanted to bring it back to life in order to have it merge with their pokémon to make them stronger. Or even weirder, having it merge with them, if it was even possible, giving them superhuman abilities. It all sounded like something straight out of a science fiction novel but he couldn't think of too many reasons for the team to invest so much time and effort into finding and reviving such a thing when there were plenty of strong pokémon to find in the present day. Whatever their intentions were, it couldn't be good, so his objective to prevent them from reaching their goal still stood.

Now, Blue had spent a good portion of his life studying. He stayed in many regions and took the opportunity to learn a lot... but as he finished reading the dense, science gibberish, he was feeling the headache coming to him. Maybe reading the whole thing in one sitting wasn't such a great idea, he though, pinching the bridge of his nose. Not to mention he hadn't even found anything particularly interesting or new.

As he turned the last page, he almost gasped in surprise upon finding a list of names; all of which were preceded with a 'Dr' acronym. There were about a dozen names, none of which rang a bell (except his grandfather's, of course) but that was exactly his reason for sitting in front of a computer.

Booting up the search engine, he searched every name on the list to see if he found anything interesting. All of the scientists involved with the takenga looked like ordinary nerds on the surface as he quickly read through the first few search resulsts and watched the picture that came with them. However, he eventually came across the picture of one of the scientists, a blonde middle-aged woman which looked awfully familiar...

The woman in the picture had a serious, stern look to her which he was certain he had seen before. But where?

He sat there, looking at the picture for a good five minutes until the mean scowl finally rung a bell. And he didn't even have to look very far into his memory to find out where he had seen her before. She looked exactly like the lady riding a rapidash who had chased him all the way to the border and who had come so close to catch him. The same death stare... the same neatly groomed blonde hair...

That woman who had chased after him was one of the scientists who worked on the takenga specimen? That was actually kind of incredible! Blue leaned back into his chair, relishing in his discovery for a moment. Had he actually come nose to nose with the leader of Team Omicron without even knowing it? Or even if she wasn't the leader, she had to be a prominent figure, right?

Blue looked at her name. Karla Rapace. Weird name. But he dug a little bit deeper on the web and found out that the woman was quite a big name in the field of biology, although she wasn't exactly famous to the general public. He read a little bit about her but found nothing really noteworthy except that there was no information to be found about her for the last two years but Blue told himself this wasn't really surprising. That Rapace woman worked on top secret projects like the takenga so the biggest part of her work was surely not so easily found on the web. Nevertheless, what little he did find was pretty interesting. So this woman knew his grandfather?

The young trainer took notes on all the findings he deemed important until a thought occurred to him. He knew about Rapace and he knew about his grandfather. But the others, what side were they standing on?

The strawberry blonde did a little more research on all the other names and what do you know... he found out that most of them were either dead or missing. And those who did die met their maker in suspicious fashion to say the least. One was found dead after cardiac arrest even though he was pretty young and had no previous heart conditions, another one had crashed his car for no apparent reason, one had even fallen off a cliff... It all looked like accidents or natural deaths that could easily be disguised murders. It looked too weird to be a coincidence. It looked like Team Omicron and that Karla Rapace wanted to dispose of everyone who knew about the takenga. Then... what about Samuel Oak?

Rapace and him were the only two left alive from the research team. This surely meant that they would go after his grandfather or maybe... maybe they already did.

Blue's enthusiasm was slowly replaced with dread. Had his old man been found and killed by Team Omicron already? Was this why he never contacted him? Was he wasting his time waiting for his call? If only there was a way to know...

* * *

 _Oh shiet!_

 _Eevee, if it's you, I'm glad to hear from you again! I hope you're well! And I hope you like this story!_


	6. The little circle

_The greek word omicron means 'little circle.'_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: The little circle**

Days turned into weeks and Blue waited, in vain, for his grandfather to contact him. Any calls he tried to place to the researcher's lab or house went unanswered. All of his attempts to contact his friend Red or to track down his whereabouts were also met with failure.

The gym leader had spent his time living a discreet, temporary life in Cherrygrove City, sleeping at the inn and training with his pokémon, with no news of how things were going in Kanto. Now, Blue was not, by any stretch of the imagination, an anxious and panicky kind of person but, though he let none of it show, he was beginning to feel an ever increasing sense of dread and was worried about his family, his friend and his home region.

So as not to spend his days chewing his nails, Blue kept himself busy by caring and battling with his pokémon, doing some physical training of his own and researching any information he could find on Team Omicron and its possible leader, Karla Rapace. He didn't find out a lot of new information but he made sure to call professor Elm to let him know about what he did find.

The older man was shocked to hear that the person that was possibly behind the theft of the takenga specimen was likely also the one behind Team Omicron. Seeing as how all the other scientists who worked on the takenga remains were now either dead or missing, with the notable exceptions of that Rapace woman and also, hopefully, Samuel Oak, too, both Blue and professor Elm grew worried for the old researcher. Unfortunately, the Kanto-Johto border had become so dangerous that there was no way for anyone to find out if he was still alive.

Blue kept his suspicions that his grandfather might have had morally questionnable intents with the specimen to himself. He didn't want to make any assumptions. It was clear that he was dealing with an unpredictable ennemy. He had to be smart about this. Still, seeing as his situation didn't seem to progress much over the last few weeks, he would need to think of something to do about the situation. He couldn't just stay put in Cherrygrove indefinetly !

After a while, he began to feel... less safe in Cherrygrove. He wondered if he was becoming paranoid, because on more than one occasion, as he walked through the city with his beanie and his hood up, he could have sworn some people were staring at him for far too long. He felt like he was being watched; like someone was stalking him. Maybe it was his imagination playing tricks on him because of how nervous he had become lately. Or at least, he hoped it was...

Still, the young trainer took no more chances than necessary and kept six pokémon on his person at all times, and his switchblade well in reach in his pocket. During the night at the local inn, he kept a chair propped up against the door as he slept, and the windows locked. He went out less and less; only to get himself some food and whatever other supplies he needed, and when he did, he did it with his jolteon walking by his side.

The quick little pokémon was his smallest and was one of the few he possessed that he could keep out of his pokéball by his side in a public place without causing anyone to be frightened or call the police. He couldn't exactly do that with his Tyranitar or his Gyarados. A jolteon was much more discreet and socially acceptable. Small as it was, his trusty electric type was a fearsome fighter and could zap any threat faster than the human eye could process.

Having his jolteon out of his ball with him at all times also had another advantage. Though it couldn't speak, the lightning pokémon had a way to communicate with his master with his body language. Jolteon, like all of his evolutionnary relatives, had superior hearing and sense of smell compared to a human's. Very much in tune with people, it had a talent for discerning those who approached with friendly intentions and those who did not.

Normally, Blue's Jolteon had his quill-like hair in a neutral position which gave it a cute scruffy appearance. When he was friendly, his fur flattened to his body so he could be petted, making him look much smaller and innocent. However, when he was on the attack, hunting or when he felt threatened, his needle-sharp hair stood on end, making him look much bigger and threatening. An angry jolteon was a frightening sight, especially when they hissed, showing of their small but sharp teeth and bristled its fur, making it spark and crackle menacingly with electricity.

When Blue walked around, he always made sure to keep an eye on the small quadruped just so he could anticipate an eventual threat by watching the position of his hair and ears. It made him feel safer but he continued to suspect someone was watching him from a distance.

* * *

Blue had spent the better part of the day at the library doing research after having a small chat with professor Elm over the phone. As the sun began to set, the gym leader walked back to the inn to retire for the day, his jolteon happily trotting a few steps ahead of him.

Yawning as he fumbled with his pockets to find the key to his room, he was quickly stopped in his tracks when he saw his Jolteon's spiky fur stand on end. The electric pokémon's large ears flattened on his skull and he growled, visibly wary of something behind the door. Though previously tired, Blue instantly snapped out of his fatigue. Something was wrong. Could there be someone waiting for him in his room?

The door didn't seem to have been broken or forced in any way and no one he had seen so far in the inn seemed to be frightened by some criminal activity. Whatever Jolteon was warning him about, he was almost certain it was linked to his cultish pursuers.

Blue was very tempted to not even risk entering the room to be potentially attacked. However, if there really was someone in there waiting for him, it could be a good occasion to beat some information out of a member of Team Omicron. Plus, although he had kept the most important stuff he owned on his person; that was, his pokémon, phone, knives and of course, the master ball, most of his belongings were still in the room and he would have preferred to get them back before having to find a new safe place to stay.

Blue decided to release his Machamp, the rash superpower pokémon standing next to him, dutifully waiting for orders. His four arms would most likely be an asset in a physical confrontation. The gym leader signaled for him to open the door and for his Jolteon to stay behind and cover his back. Casting a glance at both extremities of the hallway to make sure he wasn't frightening any customers, Blue pulled out his newly acquired survival knife and, not without a healthy amount of nervousness, given the situation, walked into his room, escorted by his pokémon.

As soon as he set foot inside, he flicked on the light switch. He was surprised to see the room devoid of any other presence. But that was not the only thing he hadn't expected.

The room was a complete mess. Drawers had been pulled out and overturned, the bed covers were lying on the floor and lamps and other decorations lay scattered everywhere. Blue found his backpack, which he had kept under the bed, unzipped, its contents thrown randomly across the room. His Jolteon kept growling and jumped on the bed, sniffing around while his Machamp stood by, awaiting another command.

The young trainer sighed in relief, feeling his heartbeat slow down after anticipating a heated fight. Knife still in hand, he checked the bathroom to make sure no one was hiding and then returned in the bedroom, scratching the back of his head, wondering what to make of this chaos.

Someone had obviously broken into his room and had been looking for something, leaving behind what looked like the aftermath of a hurricane. And he was pretty sure he knew what that something was.

Good thing he had kept the master ball on his person at all times, otherwise, Team Omicron would surely have found it. But there really wasn't anything to be relieved about, as this intrusion in his bedroom meant that he had indeed been found out and, now that they probably figured out he kept the master ball with him, it was only a matter of time before they became more aggressive and tried to get to him. He had to leave Cherrygrove City as soon as possible and head to another settlement somewhere, at a safe distance.

Blue thought about calling the police but he figured it wouldn't do much good, as the perpetrator was long gone and he didn't want to have to stay for hours at the station for questionning. But before he set off, he figured it would be a good idea to warn professor Elm of the approach of Team Omicron, since they might be tempted to go after him, too.

It wasn't so late, and Blue knew the professor usually stayed at his lab until 10pm to finish his work (he was usually late because he got distracted so easily) so he tried calling him with his cellphone but he got no response. There seemed to be a pattern, Blue growled inwardly. Though this was by no means a sure indicator that something bad was going on, for some reason, the gym leader got a bad feeling from the lack of answer to his call and decided he had to go there in person to warn the man of the possible danger.

* * *

When he made it to New Bark Town, it wasn't particularly late but there was almost no one hanging out outside. Professor Elm's lab still had lights on which was something Blue wanted to interpret as a good sign. Giving a quick glance at his surroundings to make sure no suspicious eyes were on him, he walked up to the door. It was unlocked, which was nothing strange in a town such as New Bark, which, just like Pallet, had little to no criminal activity. Besides, it would certainly not be locked if professor Elm was still in there, so Blue let himself in.

The place looked normal enough, except that there was no one to be found in the main lab. Blue made his way to the professor's office and opened the door. He was surprised not to see him there. His desk lamp was still on and there were still a lot of paper lying around in the usual mess. Where could he be, if he wasn't there? Maybe he had gone home and just forgot to lock up. It wouldn't be so strange coming from the scatterbrained researcher. Yet, Blue couldn't shake the bad feeling he had been gripped with since finding his room had been searched.

The gym leader walked out of the office and was just about to leave, telling himself he could always call him tomorrow but he froze in his tracks steps away from the exit door when his ears picked up a faint, unusual sound. Blue made himself as quiet as possible and listened...

It sounded like... rain? No... It wasn't raining; there was a clear sky outside. No... It was more like... running water. The washroom! That was probably where professor Elm was.

The young trainer confidently stepped up to the bathroom door, hearing the sound grow louder as he got closer, but was again stopped in his tracks when he heard his shoe squeak on a wet puddle on the floor, seemingly coming from the other side of the door. Sure enough, there was water on the floor. _What the hell?_ Was there a burst pipe or something?

Blue pushed the door open to find that almost the entire bathroom floor was covered in water. The sound seemed to be coming from one of the sinks at the other side of the room, the faucet of which had apparently been left on.

His shoes slowly getting soaked, Blue looked on at the mess in disgust, telling himself he should at least be glad the water wasn't coming from an overflowing toilet.

"Professor Elm?" he called, hoping to hear the man respond from one of the stalls. He got no response and Blue was one again gripped with the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

He walked by every stall. Each of them were empty and looked completely normal. However, he was not at all prepared for what he saw when he rounded the corner at the other side of the washroom, where the sinks were.

" **What the fuck!?** "

Professor Elm was there, with his unmistakable labcoat, in a kneeling position in front of one of the sinks, with his arms limply hanging at his sides. The sink was left running and was overflowing with water. The man's face was plunged in it and he was not moving. At all.

It startled Blue so bad that he took an instinctive step back, which caused him to slip on the wet floor and fall on his backside. He saw that in this particular area, there was water everywhere, even on the walls, as if someone had been moving around too much, splashing the liquid everywhere.

His heart beating hard against his ribcage, Blue slowly and reluctantly put the pieces together. There had visibly been a struggle, as evidenced by the splashes of water all around and professor Elm's clothes which were almost completely soaked.

He just couldn't believe what he was seeing. The thouroughly frightened gym leader, eyes wide in terror, slowly got up. As if to confirm what was already fairly obvious, he slowly laid a hand on professor Elm's cold shoulder and gently pulled his face out of the sink.

"Oh my god!" he screamed out loud upon seeing the man's still open eyes, an expression of terror frozen on his swollen face.

As if it had burned him, he quickly let go of the dead body, which fell limply on the wet floor. Terrified, Blue took several steps back, unable to decide what to do in his current state of panick.

Team Omicron had murdered professor Elm right in his lab. They had held his head underwater and the poor man didn't stand a chance and drowned. And they just left him there to be discovered by his colleagues the next morning.

Blue was suddenly gripped with the urge to vomit and he ran into one of the stalls to completely empty the contents of his stomach. The image of professor Elm's dead vacant eyes was burned into his mind. The young trainer was unable to get up for a few minutes as the uncontrollable retching shook his entire body.

When he was finished, he stood up, wiping his mouth with a bit of toilet paper and the thought suddenly occurred to him that the murderer could still be in the building. Team Omicron may very well have been waiting in the lab to ambush him.

Now suddenly fearing for his own well being, Blue cast one last sorry glance at the professor's corpse, and ran out of the bathroom. He made a mad dash for the exit door. If ever there was a moment to call the police, it would be right now, but he wouldn't take the chance to lower his guard before he was in a safe place.

He ran out of the building and into the sleeping village, trying, through his panicked state, to think of where to go. The people of New Bark Town, as accomodating as they usually were, would likely not take too kindly to him barging into their home in the middle of the night, screaming about a cult chasing after him. That would probably have him sent straight to the psych ward.

Blue stopped in the middle of the town square near the fountain, looking anxiously all around him. He couldn't see anyone but it was mostly dark outside. Anyone could be lurking in the shadows. The gym leader wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and fished his cellphone out of his pocket.

He didn't even have the time to start dialing before a pair of arms grabbed him from behind, making him drop the device in surprise. The young trainer yelped in surprise but couldn't call for help before a hand holding a damp cloth was shoved in his face. Someone was trying to kidnap him!

Blue instinctively tried to pull the hand from his face but the kidnapper was moving him around so much that he couldn't get a good grip. _Don't breathe in... Don't breathe in..._ He knew that if he took so much as one whiff of the chlorophorm, he would pass out and then, he would be at the mercy of the evil cult.

He tried everything. He tried to shake his attacker off and he tried to throw him over his shoulder but the person who was attacking him was so much heavier and taller than he was that he couldn't lift him off the ground. Rather, it was the opposite. The burly man was lifting him up and tossing him around like a ragdoll, imprisonning him in his arms like a bewear.

Long seconds went by during the struggle, while Blue tried not to breathe but he knew that if he didn't get that cloth off of his face soon, he would be done for. As a high-level trainer who was not only used to working under pressure, but actually thrived in it, and also as an amateur fighter himself, Blue used his finely honed quick decision-making skills and tried one last move as a last resort; something his attacker would likely not expect.

The split second he felt both of his feet touch the ground, he bent over slightly to upset the kidnapper's balance and then backed up. He backed up for several steps with his attacker having no choice but to follow. And the thing he had hoped would happen happened. The big man's heels hit the rim of the fountain. The giant fell into the water basin, taking his prisonner with him.

But Blue was expecting it. As soon as they touched the water, the kidnapper reflexively let go of him to pull his head out of the water. The gym leader wasted no time and once he was free, he got up and jumped out of the fountain faster than he ever thought he could, taking a much neaded breath.

There was no time to celebrate his victory. The large man would certainly get up and go after him; not to mention that he could have accomplices nearby. So Blue ran away as fast as he could in the direction of route 29, not looking back. He pulled out his Arcanine's pokéball as he ran and released the fire pokémon to jump on his back and escape at full speed.

* * *

 _Shit gets real._

 _One chapter left with Blue. After that, we change protagonists (temporarly)_

 _This story is eventually going to have horror and sci-fi elements. I hope you're down!_


	7. Old friends, new problems

_Guys, I'm sorry it took so long to update. I've been lazy... and sick... and lazy. But this one is decently long so at least it makes up for it, sort of?_

 _Also, I know I said that this one was going to be the last one with Blue until we switched protagonists but I lied. I had to cut this chapter because it felt wrong to make it end where I meant it to because it make too much happen in one chapter and made the story feel rushed. It sounds weird but I can't really explain it better than that._

 _Slight warning for sexual themes in this one. Nothing graphic._

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Old friends, new problems**

Blue sat, his arms crossed and rested on his knees, on the sand near the edge of the ocean. The master ball was sitting a few steps in front of him as if staring back at him.

Above them, the night sky was lit with a thousand stars. A faint sea breeze caressed the leaves of the few palm trees on the lonely little island he had stopped on. The sky was so beautiful, one would not guess how desperate the young trainer felt.

Blue had sat there for a long time, staring intently at the round ball wordlessly, his face a mask of exhaustion, frustration and dissatisfaction. How ridiculous was it that he had spent ten months on the run, risking his life on numerous occasions, for just this tiny insignificant object?

After discovering the drowned body of professor Elm in his lab, and barely escaping a kidnapping attempt by Team Omicron, Blue had run off, hoping to find safety in another city. That had been the plan. What he did not expect was to see his face in the newspaper with a headline reading 'Kanto gym leader fleeing murder scene: famous trainer Blue Oak suspected of killing professor Elm'. Someone, presumably his very persistant pursuers, had taken a picture of him as he ran out of the lab and had alerted the media, pinning the murder of the poor innocent man on him. The lie had had the effect Team Omicron had desired: the police had gone on the lookout for him, preventing him from staying anywhere and the citizens of Johto warned the authorities as soon as they caught sight of him. All of this attention had Blue constantly on the run and unable to rest or buy supplies.

Team Omicron was chasing him relentlessly and the gym leader had narrowly escaped several other kidnapping attempts on him. He felt like he had a noose around his neck. The pressure was so strong, he was convinced it was beginning to affect his mental health. It got to a point where Johto got too dangerous for him and he was forced to run away to another region, even further away from Kanto.

He had gone to Sinnoh and managed to stay there for a while but Team Omicron somehow had found him again. He had gone to Kalos, Unova, Hoenn... Everywhere he went, Team Omicron followed him and each time, it took them less and less time to find him. Blue felt like he was going crazy from the stress, the lack of sleep and the constant fear he was living in. Not to mention that he had so little time to replenish his food and medical supplies, he and his pokémon were constantly starving and exhausted. Any pokémon center could be turned into a death trap with his ennemies tailing him so closely, blaming him for a lot of misdeeds so the locals wouldn't be inclined to help him. Since he had no idea when would be the next time he could fully heal his team, he did everything he could to make them battle as little as possible, so they and he would last longer and have a better chance of escaping the cult.

Hounded to the end of his wits, with no end in sight, Blue had had no other choice but to attempt what was by far his most dangerous trip: making it to Alola. Not by plane or boat but just with his pokémon. He had been forced to embark on an estimated two week long journey with his exhausted team while they were all starving. Blue knew very well that this was almost suicidal and that there was a good chance he wouldn't make it but he literally had no other option at this point.

Alola was an archipelago, distant from the rest of the world. It had a reputation for being very peaceful and nice there. Blue had gone there not that long ago on a vacation with Red. It had been a wonderful experience, full of partying, exciting battles, delicious food and gorgeous displays of nature. He had even played with the idea of moving there permanently for a while but decided against it because of his duties as a gym leader. He had made friends with many people there; people he was hoping would help him in his time of need.

So, the gym leader had set off flying above the waves with his Aerodactyl all day. He had to avoid approaching any wild pokémon and any civilized island he came across, he stayed only long enough to buy, or steal any supplies he could. He wasn't a fan of that last part but since Team Omicron had put him on the dark side of the law anyway, and that he was desperate, he felt himself justified to do so, with his pokémon's help.

When the weather got bad (which happened far more often that he'd thought and liked), he would guide his Aerodactyl above the clouds, where they could continue on their perilous journey without being struck by lightning and tossed around by the wind or, when the fossil pokémon got tired, he would release his Gyarados and have him carry him instead. The water dragon could not swim or fly as fast, so he only used him when it was necessary.

When the night fell onto the rolling waves, Blue often had to try and catch some sleep while his pokémon carried him but of course, it was very light sleep because he was anything but safe and didn't want to fall off of his pokémon and get lost in the ocean to be poisonned by tentacools or torn to pieces by sharpedoes. On the few times he got lucky, he would come across a small rock formation or a minuscule deserted island where he could stop, get some much needed sleep, rest his Aerodactyl and Gyarados and send his Pidgeot out to catch them some fish to eat. With the help of his Arcanine, he could even cook it. His Blastoise could provide the whole team with pure clean fresh water (blastoises typically prefered freshwater lakes but could survive in saltwater by absorbing it and filtering the salt, which they discarded in their droppings, keeping only the water).

The arduous trip had been going on for eleven days now. Eleven days during which he could see nothing but water, water and more water. He fully understood how a castaway would feel. Eleven days of this ordeal and he still couldn't see the shores of Alola. He hoped to Arceus that the exhaustion hadn't caused him to miscalculate his trajectory and that he was headed in the right direction.

And this was how he found himself sitting on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, glaring at the accursed master ball that got him into this mess. He was so tired but he couldn't sleep. His brain wouldn't stop thinking about the horrible situation he was in, all the uncertainties... He had no idea if his grandfather, his sister or his best friend were still alive. He had lost his phone in the struggle with the kidnapper in New Bark Town. Never in his life had Blue felt so alone and isolated.

He hadn't spoken to a human being in weeks. He had no contact with the outside world. The stress, the lack of sleep; it all contributed to making him extremely paranoid. Even though he was in the middle of the ocean on a deserted island, any sudden noise would cause him to jump, anticipating an attack. Whenever he managed to catch some real sleep, he would almost always be awoken suddenly by vivid nightmares, most of which were about trying and failing to escape the grasp of some faceless monster or falling to his doom in a bottomless pit.

This had to come to an end soon, the young trainer thought, staring wearily at the master ball. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to keep going on like this much longer.

Oh, he had thought about getting rid of the damn thing multiple times, all right. After all the troubles the accursed ball had subjected him to (and was continuing to do so), who would dare blame him for that? But every time he attempted to chuck the master ball into the ocean, he would almost unconsciously keep his fingers tightly gripping the ball, stopping himself.

His grandfather had entrusted him with it for a reason, he had told himself. Besides, getting rid of it would not make Team Omicron magically disappear or leave him alone. Hell, he wasn't even one hundred percent sure what was in there. He had theorized about the nature of the creature contained inside the ball multiple times but none of the research and pondering he had made gave him an irrefutable answer.

Considering Team Omicron wanted it so bad, the most likely answer was that it was a clone of the mysterious extinct pokémon codenamed 'takenga' that they had (possibly) managed to bring back to life by cloning it, in a similar fashion that fossil pokémon such as aerodactyl and kabuto were revived from their fossilized remains. The possible leader of Team Omicron had gone on a mission to eleminate all of those who knew about its existence, which was presumably the reason professor Elm had been killed. This was a possibility. But it was by no means a certainty. Maybe the pokémon in the master ball was another one entirely.

Whatever it was, Blue had been tempted to release it to find out and maybe even to tame it and use it against the evil cult but he never allowed himself to; he was more careful than he was curious.

Professor Elm... The disturbing image of his drowned corpse, with a face frozen in terror was forever engraved into his memory and, ten months later, it still saddened and angered him to remember what happened to him.

It's not like he knew the man well; they weren't friends or anything. They talked a few times over the course of a few weeks. But the sheer violence and injustice of his death was downright revolting. There had been no reason; no need for him to die like that. Team Omicron could have just forced him into their ranks like they did for many others; they didn't have to kill him. But because they chose to do so, they left a widow without a husband and two young kids without a father. As an orphan himself and having had both of his parents dying from unnatural causes, Blue could relate on a deep personnal level to the pain professor Elm's kids no doubt experienced upon hearing of his demise. The worst part was that they probably believed that he was responsible for it. And this only served to steel his resolve not to let Team Omicron win and get away with their crimes.

One thing was clear, though. There was no way he could do this all by himself. He had been forced to run from every region he had gone to, but he was hoping that Alola would give him sanctuary so he could rest and hopefully, get the high authorities of the region to listen and believe him. If he could get some backup, maybe it could be possible to form a team of their own and fight back.

Blue estimated that he would reach the shores of Akala Island in about four days. As he sat near the fire his Arcanine had lit for him, getting ready for another tormented night of sleep, he repeated inwardly to himself that the worst was behind him and that in just four 'short' days, he would be safe again.

* * *

To his dismay, Blue only saw the sandy shores of Alola _five_ days later. Harsh weather conditions had complicated his trip and slowed down his progress significantly. But as he set foot on solid ground for the first time in forever, late at night, he was too relieved to dwell on being late. Withdrawing his Gyarados inside of his pokéball, Blue dragged his feet on the golden sand, feeling all of the exhaustion he had been mentally holding back for months come crashing down on him suddenly, taking him with it. The gym leader let his knees hit the sand and collapsed on the beach, passing out instantly.

Blue was pulled from his sleep by something... slimy and cold touching his cheek. When he oppened his eyes, he saw a small black loaf with eyes and spikes looking back at him, inches from his face. The young trainer nearly jumped out of his skin and hasty rolled away from the strange creature staring at him curiously. The creature had six dull purple spikes on its back, small round eyes and a strange 'tail' that looked oddly like a cottonball. The gellatinous blob didn't move and just stared back at him as he recovered from the harsh awakening.

 _Geez..._ Blue let out inwardly, putting a hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating hard against his ribcage. It was one of those Alolan pokémon... This one was a pyukumuku. He wasn't used to that thing yet but it was pretty harmless.

The blonde trainer felt some sand that had stuck to the side of his face, which reminded him that he probably looked horrible and smelled even more terrible after all that time at sea. That was not even mentionning the state of his clothes...

The beach around him looked deserted but that was mostly just because it was early morning. Soon, tourists and locals alike would swarm the place. He was standing on a large beach right next to a hotel resort he had seen on his last visit. Blue didn't want to stay in the open in public areas any longer than he had to and he knew just who he wanted to ask for refuge.

* * *

"Oh my... Blue? Blue Oak? Is that really you?" a surprised, pajama wearing Olivia asked when she opened the door to her home to the Kanto gym leader.

The blonde trainer gave the Akala Kahuna a friendly smile, happy and relieved that she remembered him. He was a little embarassed to have disturbed her this early in the morning but well... he had a good reason.

"Hey, Olivia," he greeted a little awkwardly, trying not look as tired, dirty and weak as he really was.

The beautiful woman smiled back.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up here again," she said, smiling teasingly. "You're a real bastard for making me wait this long," she then joked.

Blue let out a small laugh to accompany hers.

About a year and a half ago, Blue had traveled to Alola along with Red for a well deserved vacation. The whole trip had been very pleasant and he had spent a good portion of his time greeting challengers at the famed Battle Tree. But, an extrovert at his core, Blue had also done his fair share of socializing and mingling with the locals. He happened to meet Olivia in Konikoni City at a pub and the two of them immediately connected and became friends. Blue ended up spending the night with her. Although they didn't share romantic feelings for one another, they still had managed to develop a complicity despite the fact that they didn't technically spent more than a day together.

That, and the fact that Olivia was a Kahuna, basically the Alolan equivalent of a gym leader, an Elite Four and most importantly, the protector of her island, was what made her the first person Blue came to ask for help and protection. The few important trainers he had tried to warn during his constant moving from region to region either didn't believe him or didn't want to get involved out of fear or because they had nothing to gain helping a faraway region.

"So, you've finally decided to come for another vacation?" Olivia asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"I couldn't stand being apart from you any longer," Blue joked, sighing dramatically.

The two exchanged a small laugh but the gym leader's expression smile slowly turned to a worried frown, which made the Kahuna furrow her brow worryingly.

"Unfortunately... What brings me here is a lot less... pleasant," Blue explained vaguely.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"Can I come in?" the young trainer interjected, casting a worried glance behind his shoulder.

* * *

As the pair sat in the lounge of Olivia's apartment, which was situated on the floor above her jewelery shop, the woman started to notice her unexpected guest's disheveled appearance, apparent emaciation and tormented eyes. This was a stark contrast from the Blue she had met last year.

"I'm sorry for just dropping in like that... unnanounced and whatnot. Trust me, I wouldn't do that if I wasn't in a very... complicated situation."

"What's going on?" Olivia asked naturally, sensing that something very serious was going on.

"It's kind of a long story. I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but would it be alright if I could just get something to eat for my pokémon and I? And I really need a shower and some sleep."

"Sure..." Olivia agreed, more curious than ever, now. "What happened to you?" she asked, finally acknowledging his deplorable state. "You look like you've been trampled by a herd of tauros."

Blue smiled.

"I'll tell you all about it, I promise. But I really need to have a bite and rest. My pokémon too."

As the young trainer got up, prompting the woman to direct him to the shower, he noted her intrigued and worried look, so he opted to say something to appease her. He walked up to her sitting form and, making use of his natural charisma and charm, gently cupped her face in his hand, smiling mischievously.

"Thank you," he said. "I promise, I'll make it up to you," he added suggestively, winking at her.

* * *

For the first time in more than two weeks, Blue was able to take a good, long, hot shower. The steaming droplets felt like heaven on his skin. Sure, he had cleaned off any grime on his body using sea water during his trip. As a result, he didn't _look_ all that dirty but he reeked of seawater, salt and fish. His hair was left greasy and stinky as well and Blue was all too happy to stay under the shower for hours to restore himself to his former glory. Meanwhile, his clothes also got a much needed wash.

Afterwards, Olivia had provided him with a nice meal she had fetched from a local restaurant, which he had inhaled so fast he barely tasted it. It felt so good to have something other than raw fish in his stomach, at last! When he was done with that, Olivia led him to one of her guest rooms where he let himself crash on the bed, falling into a deep sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, finally able to relax, knowing he was safe and that his pokémon were being cared for as well. The Kahuna had promised him that she would feed, clean and give them a comfortable space to rest.

The gym leader knew he was exhausted but he was still surprised to discover that he had remained asleep for almost two straight days; but damn if it didn't feel great. It was early evening when he made his way, barefoot, to Olivia's apartment's sitting room where he found her peacefully watching TV while petting one of her pet stuffuls. The plush-like pokémon mewed upon seeing him walk in.

"Hey," Olivia greeted him

"Hey," Blue responded with a smile, scratching the back of his neck.

He walked up to the couch and sat down next to her.

"Thanks for the hospitality," he then said genuinely. "I really needed that. I guess I owe you an explanation for all this."

"You sure do," she responded, crossing her legs and waiting for him to start talking.

"It's kind of a long story..."

The young trainer had no reason or justification to hide anything from his helper, so he relieved some of the burden he carried by telling her everything he had gone through for the last year. Everything from Team Omicron's surprise invasion of Kanto, his grandfather's warning, his escape to Johto, the mystery of the takenga and the master ball he carried, professor Elm's murder and the fact that it had been pinned on him. And that he was being hunted down by the cult all over the world and that he had had to fly and swim to Alola with severely limited resources out of desperation to escape his pursuers.

Olivia took it all in without interupting but he could tell from her expression that she was not expecting such a wild story out of him. He wasn't quite sure she would believe him; not a lot of people would, but he hoped that _she_ would, because he was seriously running out of ideas of what to do.

"I know this sounds crazy, but you have to believe me," he said, looking down at his feet. "I don't know what to do anymore. Team Omicron has been hunting me down for almost a year. They don't seem to have reached Alola yet but, I'm warning you, they almost certainly will sooner or later. They already infiltrated all the other regions I have been to and they like to recruit strong trainers like you and I. I was hoping that maybe... You and the other Kahunas could help me find a way to stop them from coming here... and maybe to help me kick them out of Kanto."

"If what you say is true, then we must absolutely prevent them from digging their claws into our beautiful islands. I will talk to the other Kahunas about this. In the meantime, you can stay here and rest. You'll be safe."

"Thank you. There's something else..."

The young trainer pulled out the infamous master ball from his bag and showed it to her.

"This here... I'm not sure what's in there. It could be their takenga clone or something else entirely. But my gramps made it very clear that I should do everything in my power to prevent Team Omicron from getting their hands on it. But like I told you, they've gotten closer and closer to catch me every time, so I was wondering if you knew of a place I could hide this in, so that if they _do_ catch me... they at least won't catch that as well..."

"There's a vault in my basement," Olivia informed him. "It weighs over two tons and is virtually indestructible. It would stand a golem exploding right next to it without a scratch. I use it to protect my most valuable jewellery when I close up shop. The master ball will be safe in there. Only I know the combination."

"Good," Blue sighed in relief, glad to be finally rid of that burden. "We must avoid anyone finding out that we know eachother, because..." Blue paused, suddenly coming to the unpleasant realization that he might have put Olivia in danger by associating with her. Considering what happened to professor Elm, he was suddenly worried for her. "It will be safer for you," he finished awkwardly.

"Don't worry about me," she assured, with a smile, itching closer to him. Blue's hormones immediately noticed her proximity and he had to restrain himself from blatantly staring down at her wonderful cleavage. It took no more than that for him to get excited. Her brown skin was just so perfect and flawless... _Get a hold of yourself, Oak... You're acting like a horny high school boy after stealing his uncle's porno mags..._

It seems as though all of this time spent alone had had some effect on him...

* * *

Blue and Olivia lay in bed, the only source of light being the small lamp on the nightstand, the covers only pulled up to their waist. The gym leader rested comfortably on his back, one arm acting as an extra pillow and the other being used by Olivia, who was nestled at his side, for the same purpose. The two of them were still slightly out of breath, glistening with sweat, after the energic intimate episode they had just shared together. Blue felt like he could fall asleep any second. He was so warm, with the gorgeous Kahuna resting her head on his shoulder, and so comfortable with her soft body against his that he momentarily forgot all of his worries and just basked in the moment without worrying about the future or pondering the past. He was just about to let himself be taken to dreamland when Olivia's voice brought him back to reality.

"You know... Not that I'm complaining or anything," she began, resting her hand on his chest.

"Hmm?" Blue hummed, to let her know he was listening and waiting for the rest of the sentence.

"This is the first time I've ever done it four times in one night," she finished.

Her tone was serious, but he could feel her widening smile on his bare skin. Blue couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Oh yeah... I'm glad I was your first quadruple lover," he teased. "Thanks for that, by the way. You have no idea how good it felt."

"Really, now?" she smirked, looking up at him.

"Yeah. I've been running from a bunch of crazies. I haven't gotten laid in almost a year. I though my nuts were gonna fall off."

He knew his language would have been perceived as crude and inappropriate by most people, but Blue was not used to censoring himself very often. Plus, he knew Olivia wouldn't take it the wrong way and would most likely play along. And she did.

"Well, I'm glad I could be of service," she said.

The two had a moment of comfortable silence, snuggling in eachother's warmth. After a few minutes, Olivia broke it again.

"You know, you never did tell me where you got that," she said, her finger delicately running over Blue's signature moonstone pendant that hung around his neck by its silver chain.

He remembered the Akala Kahuna having been curious about the stone he always wore during his last visit to Alola. Olivia had a passion for stones and jewels, which even translated into her choice to raise rock-type pokémon. Now, after being reunited and sharing a great stress relieving 'workout' with her, she noticed it again. Blue smiled in amusement. The pale blue stone shone dully in the light of the lamp.

"No, I guess I didn't," he answered, feeling long buried memories resurface at the mention of it.

"Tell me!" she demanded enthusiastically, like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

Really, Blue was not so eager to talk about that; he would have much prefered to go back to sleep, but he supposed that, since Olivia had been kind enough to provide him and his team with food, shelter and safety, he owed her that, at least. So, taking a good inspiration, he began his tale:

"I found that rock on the beach south of the town where I grew up, when I was just a kid. I used to spend hours and hours a day looking for pretty rocks and collecting them. This one was the prettiest I had ever found. I'd decided that I would give it to my mom for her birthday. So my dad and I kept the secret."

Olivia listened intently and happily at the cute little story she was being told. However, her smile vanished when the tale took a dark turn.

"Unfortunately, I never got to give it to her. She and my dad both died in an accident just a few weeks later."

Observing the expression on the gym leader's face closely, and the way he avoided eye contact with her suddenly, Olivia could tell that what he was telling her, even if it happened a long time a go, still hurt him on a deep emotionnal level. He visibly did not like to talk about it but he didn't seem like he intented to close off for the moment.

"So, after that happened, I... I was very lost and sad and angry. And I remember throwing the rock at the wall in my room out of anger, because it reminded me of my mom. At that time, I wanted to forget that I had parents and I wanted to get rid of everything that would remind me of them. So it just fell somewhere behind furniture and I forgot about it."

The pain seemed to diminish ever so slightly in his eyes and the rest of his story was told with a little more willingness.

"Years later, when I was about ten, I happened upon it randomly while I was cleaning my room. The wound had somewhat healed a little since then, so I decided to keep it as a memento. For my mom. Eventually, I had it polished and tied to a chain. And I've kept it with me ever since."

Olivia smiled empathically, caressing a few orange strands of hair from her partner's head, and he, almost surprisingly, returned it.

"That's... That's the first time I ever told this story to anyone," he let out, surprising himself at how much trust he had just demonstrated to this Kahuna he really didn't know that well by telling her about one of the darkest periods of his life.

Even more surprising was that he didn't find himself regretting being so honest with her. He supposed that keeping his frustration and sadness from being orphaned bottled up deep inside hadn't been the most healthy thing to do; although that had been his only real defense mechanism as a five year old. Maybe sharing a bit of his long burried pain had done him some good.

"Thank you," Olivia said simply, running her finger on his pendant, admiring it with newfound reverence.

* * *

 _Here you go. I liked to insert a little bit of humor in this one. The next one is the last one with Blue as protagonist before we change (for real, this time)_


	8. The darker side

_Goddamnit... I'm sorry this took so long. I've been crazy busy with my new job and it exhausted me beyond measure. I finally bring you this chapter, which I worked pretty hard on and I really hope it was worth the wait._

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The darker side**

Blue woke up with a jolt, his hazel eyes flying open. He was greeted with nothing more than the darkness and silence of the guest room he had been staying in for the past few weeks, above Olivia's shop. It took one or two seconds for the gym leader to remember where he was and why and only then did he allow his breathing to slow down and his muscles to relax.

It was another one of those accursed nightmares.

It was nothing new for him now, to be awoken by bad dreams like that. It had struck him particularly hard upon discovering professor Elm's corpse and narrowly escaping the clutches of Team Omicron. His sleep had been troubled ever since then, thanks to all the stress he had to put up with. Too many fears, doubts and frustration swirled in his head constantly. Blue felt himself shiver a little, but it wasn't because he was cold.

He dreamed that he found himself in some vague location until some unknown malevolent entity snuck up on him, whispering taunts in his ear, and then multiple hands grabbed every part of his body and dragged him into a bottomless pit while he just lay there, not even attempting to resist because he was completely paralyzed and unable to move. He woke up just as he was about to lose sight of the light; kinda like one wakes up right before dying in a dream.

The blonde trainer felt a thin film of sweat across his forehead. Seeing as there was no obvious danger around him, he played with the idea of just going back to sleep but the moment he tried closing his eyes, he already knew he was much too wide awake to do that, for now. Sighing in annoyance, the young trainer sat up, feeling the cool night breeze caress his bare chest, pinching the bridge of his nose. Well, since he wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, he might as well get out of bed and try to calm his nerves.

Slipping on a pair of sweatpants (that he had bought after his arrival in Koni Koni) and a white t-shirt, Blue got up and left his room silently, his bare feet lightly shuffling across the hardwood floor. He walked past Olivia's room stealthily, not wanting to wake her up, and made his way to the back of the building where he knew there was a small balcony on which he could sit and enjoy a pretty awesome view of the ocean.

The air outside was cool and carried the scents of the sea as well as various foods and incenses that were sold all over the city, even at night. The people in Alola were not afraid of the night. They were just as lively after sunset.

Blue sat down in one of the chairs, not sparing a glance at the town below but rather gazing far away on the horizon, where sea and sky met. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach help soothe him. Somewhere on his right, the Koni Koni city's lighthouse spun its beam of light, piercing the darkness. The gym leader sighed, gazing as far away as his eyes could see at the endless water.

And he couldn't help thinking of home. Kanto. So far away. He didn't even know what was going on over there. He didn't know where his friends and family were. Was his grandfather still alive? Was he waiting for him? What about Daisy? Last time they had seen eachother, she'd been pregnant with her cheating husband's baby. Unless something happened, she ought to have given birth by now. What was happening to her and her baby?

He'd been pondering for the last few months just what he was going to do but he'd never been able to come up with a satisfying answer. He couldn't run away forever. Should he try to fight back against Team Omicron? Should he try to go back to Kanto to get answers for all his questions? Was he being a coward for hiding away in Alola? What if he did go back? It could go well or it could go just as horribly as he had feared. Sure, he was a strong trainer, but if losing his champion title had taught him anything, it was that he wasn't infaillible. Especially since the enemy he was facing was unconcerned with rules and playing fair. A trainer, even a strong one, would quickly be overwhelmed if multiple ennemies attacked at once.

Going back to Kanto might be the braver, more honorable thing to do but it could just as well be a suicide mission. And walking into the pyroar's den just because it was the brave thing to do was a thing Red would do, but not him.

Red...

"Having trouble sleeping?" came the unexpected voice of Olivia behind him.

Blue spun around, startled out of his thoughts. He felt a bit embarassed to have his nervousness be so obvious but he couldn't really help it. Olivia stood by his side, on the balcony, wearing her pyjamas. Her dark brown skin had a faint orange glow because of the lights of the city around them.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"I wasn't asleep," she told him, taking the chair next to him. "I was doing some reading. Something on your mind?"

"It's just... You know I love Alola and I really like hanging out with you but... I've been way too far away from my home... for way too long. Meanwhile, a crazy murderous cult is doing Arceus-knows-what over there. Whatever it is... it can't be good."

"You're worried about someone?"

He actually surprised himself by answering with the affirmative to that question. He was not usually the anxious type and the very few people he cared about in his live, he never really had to fear for their safety... until now. Even his grandfather, whom he despised as much as he loved.

"My gramps... and my sister... I don't know what happened to them; if they even are alive anymore... I can't stay here forever, Olivia. Even if a part of me really wants to, I can't spend the rest of my life hiding away in here."

The Kahuna nodded in understanding, her expression solemn and serious.

"What are you going to do, then?"

"I guess... I'm gonna have to try and fight back instead of running. I might try to go back to Kanto and hopefully find other trainers who haven't been caught and try to kick Team Omicron out of there."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," the rock-type specialist warned. "If what you told me about them is true, it's probably way too dangerous for you to go back there, especially on your own."

Blue certainly knew that.

"I know, but I have to try. Nothing's getting solved while I stay here. Although, before I go, I'm gonna try to get in touch with my grandfather's cousin, who lives in Alola. Maybe he can tell me something useful. Or tell me if my gramps is still around..."

"I would go with you in Kanto if I could. But as a Kahuna, I can't leave Alola."

The gym leader smiled gratefully.

"I would rather you don't get involved anyway. The less people get caught in this crazyness, the better."

There was a moment of ominous silence as the pair reflected upon their respective responsibilies regarding their home regions. It was Olivia who broke it.

"What happened to your friend? You know, the former champion? The one who came with you in Alola, last year?"

The blonde trainer's expression grew even more somber. He lowered his gaze to his hands in an effort to hide his anguish.

"Red... I... I haven't heard about him ever since Team Omicron appeared." He made an effort to keep his voice straight and devoid of emotion, but unfortunately, it kind of showed. "I don't know if... I don't know what happened to him."

The woman could tell the subject was quite painful for her guest, so she decided to drop it, although she whished she could comfort him or reassure him in some way.

"I want you to be careful when you go out, ok?" she said genuinely. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

Blue looked up at her again and forced a small grin.

"I'll try my best."

* * *

Blue remained hidden in Olivia's home for the next day, catching up on some of the sleep he missed last night. He was also silently preparing to leave, although he was not at all enthusiastic, on the long road back to Kanto. He was unsure whether leaving the master ball in the kahuna's vault was a good idea, but he rationnalized that it was probably infinitely safer in there than in his pocket. The only thing that mattered was that it was in good hands and out of reach of Team Omicron.

He had to leave, he kept mentally repeating to himself as he laced his boots. It was only a matter of time until Team Omicron found him here. He wanted to leave before they found out where he was and would become tempted to harm Olivia to get to him. Today, though, he would simply go and seek Samson Oak to hopefully get answers to a few questions. He would get to see Olivia one last time before he left on his dangerous journey.

He left the shop through the back door, very late at night, being as discreet as possible. Although Koni Koni was never fully asleep, with many people still walking around and partying in clubs, it was still easier to go unnoticed after sundown.

His hood pulled over his head, Blue walked silently along the streets, staying away from any loud gathering but still making sure not to act suspiciously. Apparently, Samson Oak could often be found around Heahea beach. It was a decently long walk to get there but Blue didn't mind. The only annoying part would be going through that diglett cave that seperated him from Heahea city.

The young trainer made it to the edge of the city, under the grand archway that welcomed the tourists in, without any hitch. Blue looked up at the starry night, the noise of the city slowly fading behind him to be replaced by the serene whisper of nature ahead, hoping to find some courage in the sparkling dots.

He walked for a minute or two in the direction of the diglett cave until he noticed that the area around him grew suddenly quiet. Not even a hoothoot could be heard in the distant forest, nor a zubat screeching above.

Trying not to let his paranoia get the better of him, Blue pulled down his hood and took a long look all around him. It was dark around him but his eyes had adjusted well enough for him to see a decent distance around himself. Still, he saw nothing unusual. There wasn't even a wild pokémon trying to sneak up on him. The rationnal part of his mind tried to convince him that everything was fine and that he was just overreacting because he was so nervous and emotionnally exhausted but still, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The gym leader tried to shake off his unease and continued on his way to the cave. He froze in his tracks when he saw a large silhouette standing right in his way.

Needless to say, Blue immediately anticipated a threat and his hand automatically positionned itself above his pokéball belt without him even making the conscious decision to. What he did chose was not to send his pokémon after whoever that was. If he happened to unleash his team on an innocent bystander, he could get into some serious trouble with the local police and that was the last thing he needed at the moment.

"Who's there?" he barked harshly enough that his growing fright wouldn't be too apparent.

The stranger did not answer right away but the young trainer thought he could make out an evil smile on the obscured face.

"You didn't think you could run away forever, did you?" a deep, gruff voice ended up saying after a moment.

Blue's mind immediately switched into survival mode and he took out one of his pokéballs, sending his Arcanine into action. The fire dog glowed in the darkness, illuminating a small circle around his trainer. Arcanine growled fiercly, bristling his mane to make himself look even bigger than he already was.

The unknown man's response made it clear that he had no friendly intentions. Just like that, his pursuers caught up to him and found him again. He wasn't safe anywhere. It was time to bite back.

"Go fuck yourself, you fucking Team Omicron scum," Blue snarled, slowly working himself into a rage to avoid having his fear getting the best of him.

The man in front of him, his features now a little clearer thanks to Arcanine's light, smirked maliciously. He was intimidatingly large. He had to be at least a head taller than Blue. His arms where as thick as both of his. He wore a long black coat and a very out of place white scarf. He looked neither old nor young. His greasy black hair fell messily around his face. His expression was the same as the one a gengar who cornered his helpless prey in a dark alleyway would have. Blue immediately hated him.

"You're gonna fight back?" he jeered. "Good. I like it better when they struggle."

The big man pulled out a pokéball of his own, a heavy ball, and threw it into the air. In a blinding flash, a steelix came crashing down on the ground, shaking the entire area. The gym leader narrowed is eyes.

A steelix could be bad news for his Arcanine, since it was in part a ground type. However, the snake was also, as its name implied, a steel type, which would be weak against his fire pokémon. In a situation such as this, it was often a matter of who hit first to determine the winner. Who would be faster, an arcanine or a steelix? The answer was quite obvious.

Truth was, Blue felt much more in his element in a pokémon battle than he felt in an actual fistfight (especially if his opponent was this large). It's what he had trained for his entire life. Facing this man right now, the gym leader felt adrenaline pump through his veins. He was ready to do this. And he would go all out on this steelix.

"Arcanine, burn up!"

It was a waste of time and energy to attack a steelix with a physical move. Fortunately, Arcanine was almost as strong a special attacker as it was a physical one. By hitting steelix with this all-powerful fire move, he would instantly destroy it. Arcanine would then be temporarly rid of his fire type which would negate all of his weaknesses.

The legendary pokémon engulfed itself in bright orange flames and sent a burning wave in the direction of the steelix. The effect was immediate. The iron snake had no time to protect itself and the fire hit it head on, heating up its metal coating until it got red. Steelix cried out in pain and was immediately withdrawn into its pokéball before it melted. Blue smirked victoriously, feeling his usually confidence come rushing back.

"Who's struggling now, bitch?" he taunted while his Arcanine barked and bared his teeth menacingly as if to say 'I'm just getting started'.

The man looked satisfyingly annoyed by his quick defeat.

"You're tough, I'll give you that, blondie," he spat, pocketing his steelix's ball. "But our lady will have her messenger, whether you like it or not."

Before he had the chance to ponder what that last sentence meant, Blue heard footsteps behind his back and he quickly turned around. His previous confidence was immediately washed away by a cold rush of fear when he saw eight... _eight_ identically dressed men slowly closing in on him, each holding a pokéball. And just when things were looking like they would go in his favor, he found himself outnumberred nine to one. Even if he sent out his entire team, he was at a disadvantage. He couldn't let himself be caught here. He hated the idea, but he had to run away again.

Blue swiftly withdrew Arcanine and released his Aerodactyl. He acted quickly and hopped of his back, taking off into the night sky at blinding speed. He could see in his peripheral vision multiple flashes of light from all the members of Team Omicron releasing their pokémon at the same time but he did not slow down to look down at what was pursuing him. Maybe he should have.

Just when he was sure he was going to get away, he saw a massive silhouette fly next to him on his right. He didn't have the time to do anything. A gyarados's massive jaws bit down on Aerodactyl's wing, eliciting an agonizing cry of pain from the fossil pokémon, and the stunned gym leader barely had the time to see the ice creeping up his pokémon's wing towards his leg before the latter fell down towards the earth, taking his trainer down with him.

 _That's it, I'm dead_ , Blue thought as he saw the ground quickly get closer and closer to his face. The young trainer could only close his eyes and wait for the inevitable impact.

And it came after just a few seconds. Blue wasn't sure what part of his body hit the ground first but the entire left side of his body crashed down on the nearby beach's cold sand. A white-hot pain shot up his leg. The side of his head hit the beach. Had he not landed on sand, he would have died for sure but instead, the gym leader found himself lying on his side on the beach, pain searing through his entire body and his mind still dazed by the strong impact. His survival instinct screamed at him to move; to get out of here but as soon as he tried to move, he howled in pain.

Blue opened his eyes. Blood was dripping down from his scalp into his eyes and made the sand stick to his face. He could see that his left wrist was bent at an unnatural angle, paralyzing his whole hand. His leg, which hurt more than anything, was trapped under his Aerodactyl's limp and partially frozen body. Blue knew deep down that it was dead but he had no time to mourn. He had to get away as quickly as possible, no matter how hopeless it seemed. Using his one good hand, Blue tried to pull his leg out from under the pokémon's body. As soon as he did, the pain hit a peak like he never experienced before and he cried out again. There was something under his leg, something hard like a rock, that Aerodactyl's body squeezed his knee against and he could feel it cutting into his skin and opening his leg. He was hurt, badly, and his struggle made it worse but he had to do it. Clenching his teeth, Blue stubbornly fought through the pain and pulled his leg out, feeling the jagged rock cut his leg like a knife gutting a fish. He couldn't stop himself from screaming.

As soon as he was free, the gym leader clumsily got on all four. He tried to stand up but he didn't get very far. His leg was nowhere near a state where it could carry his weight and Blue fell down face first into the sand. He could hear footsteps closing in on him. _No_!

Motivated by pure desperation, Blue made another attempt to stand up, which was no more successful than the last one. He saw, out of the corner of his eye, three houndooms, fangs bared and barking fiercly, charging towards him, looking as if they were ready to tear him to pieces.

The gym leader could only roll on his back and raise his arms protectively, waiting for the three dogs to maul him to death. But it never happened.

The three houndooms stopped right in front of him, their burning jaws just a few centimeters away from his face. They growled fiercely, surrounding him. The message was clear: if you move, you die. Terrified, Blue froze.

Just a moment later, he saw a group of people approaching him. He recognized the same big man that had fought him just a moment ago, along with the small posse of sidekicks he had come with. But another person caught his attention amongst the lowly grunts. An ominous silhouette, riding on a flaming unicorn like a queen. Blue recognized the light blonde hair and the cold cruel gray eyes.

It was that Rapace woman. The person he suspected was the leader of Team Omicron. The same woman who had worked on the takenga project with his grandfather. Possibly also the one who stole it and also the responsible for professor Elm's murder. The gym leader was as angry as he was afraid to see her here.

Her fierce eyes never leaving his, the middle-aged woman dismounted her rapidash and walked up to him. She snapped her fingers, after which the three houndooms backed away slightly but stayed nearby, just to let him know he was still in trouble. The way she looked at him, Blue felt a lot of hatred from her, despite the fact that they didn't know eachother. She looked down at him like he was the lowest scum of the Earth but at the same time, it felt like she really wanted to impress him.

Two of her henchmen roughly grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him on his knees, not making an effort to avoid touching his broken arm and leg. Blue groaned, feeling his pant leg getting soaked in blood. As Rapace kept staring at him, she barked:

"Search him!"

Another one of her henchmen approached him and searched him; his pockets and everything while Blue glared back at the woman. They didn't find what they were looking for and Rapace immediately grew visibly angry.

"Where is it?" she asked him through clenched teeth.

Blue knew they had been searching him for the master ball. Not finding it on him visibly screwed up their plans a little bit, so, in spite of how bleak his situation was, the young trainer smirked provokingly at her to get back at her in a small way. She did not appreciate his arrogance and the back of her hand flew into his face with unexpected force, catching Blue off guard. He spat a little bit of blood from the blow.

"One year..." Rapace began, pacing in front of her captive like a pyroar in a cage. "One year, you've been **wasting our time, hiding away in dirty holes like a pathetic little ratatta!** "

Blue remained silent in front of her wrath, feeling progressively more lightheaded from the blood he was losing. He knew he was in serious trouble but he stubbornly wanted to look at it right in the face. Rapace was infuriated by his defiance.

"Don't think for one second that the master ball will remain hidden forever," she threatened in a low voice. "I will get it, and no one will stand in my way."

She leaned in towards him, hoping to intimidate him with her glare but Blue, despite the fact that half of his body was broken and that two men were holding him down on his knees, refused to show any fear on his bloody face, even though he was trembling inwardly. This only seemed to infuriate Rapace more.

"No wonder you could never keep your title and became a lowly gym leader, wasting your life battling kids going after a meaningless little badge," she taunted, looking disdainfully at him. "That's the best an arrogant little whoreson could ever hope to accomplish."

This touched a sensitive nerve. Anyone who dared to suggest his mother was a whore would feel his wrath.

"And you apparently have nothing better to do than to chase after arrogant little whoreseons, you pretentious little bitch," he bit back, spitting blood and saliva on her shoe.

Rapace and even a few of her men gasped at the audacity. Furious, she gestured for the burly man who had battled him with a steelix and without her even needing to say a word, the giant delivered a devastating punch to Blue stomach, knowing the wind out of him. The young trainer spent long seconds gasping for air as his ribs screamed in pain. Soon after, another punch connected with his jaw, and another one hit under his chin. The gym leader felt what little strength he had left drain out of him and he hovered dangerously close on the edge of consciousness. He could barely hear what Rapace said to him after that.

"I wouldn't bark so loud if I were in your position. The only reason you're still alive is because you will become a part of my army. My messenger who will spread the word. Take him away!"


	9. The fine joys of freedom

_Goddamnit, I'm sorry this took so long. I've been on a break from writing because of various reasons but one of the most important ones is that I had no idea what to chose between two options concerning a major plot element in this story. I'm still not 100% sure yet, but my dear TetrisEffect let me know that some people still cared about this story. I didn't want to abandon you guys, so I managed to get this one out._

 _I have a better idea of what this major plot point is going to be and where the story will go so the next chapter shouldn't take this long to come out. But naturally, the more you guys let me know you like it, the more motivated I get._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 9:The fine joys of freedom**

He sat on the mossy ground, too far away from the fire to benefit from its warmth, but close enough for the trio of shady men chatting around it to keep an eye on him. The fire's light was the only thing piercing the darkness of the forest in the dead of night. He was getting progressively more cold but he suffered the discomfort in silence.

His back was forced against a tree, his hands handcuffed around the trunk behind him. The metal was digging into the skin of his wrists; his gloves came just short of protecting him from it. His shoulders ached from having been forced in this unnatural position for so long. And yet, he never uttered a sound and simply calmly observed his captors from underneath his hood, as they got ready to go to sleep.

"Let's hope we don't get awakened by another damn ursaring again," one of the shady, black coat wearing men spat, throwing a nervous glance around the small camp. Their matching coats all had a white circle pattern on the back.

"Ah, don't worry," another, more confident one responded. "If an ursaring shows up, our little mute friend here will be the first one to get mauled to death," he then snickered, looking at him arrogantly.

He walked over tauntingly until he was standing right in front of his captive, crouching down to be at his sitting form's level. He simply stared back at the man with an infuriating calm and a complete absence of fear, not uttering a word.

"Maybe this will be enough to get you to open your damn mouth and tell us who you are!"

His continued silence earned him a swift kick to the ribs but he took it without complaint. His tormenter got tired of his lack of response and went back to join his comrades around the fire, paying him no more mind, confident that he wasn't going anywhere being handcuffed to a tree.

"Are you sure we aren't wasting our time with this guy?" the third black coated man said loud enough for him to hear it from his tree. "We could just kill him," he then suggested, probably hoping to scare him. "Or we could even just leave him here. He's not going anywhere. If the wild pokémon don't get him, starvation will."

He somewhat tensed a bit upon hearing that he might be killed or left to die but he made an effort not to let it show. Frightening him is exactly what they were trying to do.

"No way," the more confident one responded. "You've seen his pokéballs just like I did. This guy's a pokémon trainer for sure. And any trainer can benefit our cause. Some just need a little persuation, that's all."

The young man shifted uncomfortably against the trunk, the metal cuffs scraping off some more skin off of his wrists and looked away from his captors, trying to ignore the threatening grin they were darting at him. He closed his eyes and forced his breathing to slow down, trying to seem like he was asleep so they would take their attention elsewhere.

It wasn't long before the trio of black coated men settled on their bedrolls around the fire for the night. And he waited.

He waited patiently for a long time, feigning sleep but listening closely to any sound. Only when he was absolutely certain all three of the men were asleep did he make his move.

 _Where are you? Come here. I need your help._

He sat quietly with his back to the trunk and his wrists bloodied. He called out to his ally, who he knew was nearby. He called out silently with his mind, waiting for it to be heard by the creature who would hear it.

 _I'm here. Help me. It's too dangerous to stay here. We need to escape. But I can't do it without you._

It took a moment. When it happened, the fire had almost died down but he still saw it out of the corner of his eye, a small round object pop out of one of the travel bags the three men had laid far out of his reach near the camp.

The pokéball rolled towards him as if it had a mind of its own, defying gravity by rolling uphill towards the young captive. Obeying a silent command, the ball rolled behind him towards his tied hands just close enough for him to be able to unlock the device by pressing the central button. In a brief flash of light, a small quadruped creature emerged, landing softly on the forest floor, its soft pads muting all sound.

Deep blue eyes and a small red jewel gleamed in the dying light of the campfire. A forked tail undulated calmly like reeds in a breeze and two large furry ears twitched. The espeon's jewel glowed faintly and its master felt the handcuffs trapping his wrists click unlocked. He wasted no time getting up quietly, feeling his legs and his back protest a bit after he had sat down for so long. He rolled down his gloves a bit, looking down in mild sadness the chafing and the dried blood on his wrists but quickly switched his focus to the trio of sleeping men around the dying fire.

It would be easy... With Espeon using his powers to ensure they didn't wake, to just... dispose of them and ensure they wouldn't cause him, or anyone else problems ever again. Any one of his pokémon could do it easily and he himself could do it with his bare hands. This kind of savagery had become frightfully common in Kanto these days. When this got tough, it didn't take that long for barbary to emerge from the opressors and the opressed.

However, he liked to believe that he hadn't turned into a savage like the rest just yet. He might have, a long time ago, but now that he had overcome that, he wanted, more than anything, to preserve his humanity; to never show unnecessary brutality. Besides, who was he to say who deserved to live or die?

There was no need to kill these men, he had already decided. There was a much better and humane way to ensure that they didn't pose a threat anymore.

His Espeon in tow, he slowly made his way to the camp, not worrying about his sneakers crunching dead leaves as the sun pokémon used his psychic powers to keep them well asleep. He went for the travel bag from which the pokéball had emerged a moment before and retrieved a black leather belt from it, with five pokéballs neatly inserted in their slots. Happy and relieved to finally have it back, the young man tied it neatly around his hips, content to finally feel the familiar weight on him again. He then exchanged a look with his Espeon.

He made his way to one of the men's bag and retrieved from it his pokéball belt. He did the same for the other two men's pokéballs. He stuffed them all in his own bag. Without their pokémon, they wouldn't be much of a problem anymore.

Stealing pokémon was definetly not his thing (in fact, he had been morally opposed to that all his life) but he had no intention of harming or selling the pokémon or even use them himself. He simply would find a nice place so he could release them back into the wild. They would be better off than with these bad men.

He looked over at his waiting pokémon and, after giving him a brief nod, took off into the dark woods like a stealthy noctowl without looking back.

* * *

The sun was nearing its zenith when he made it to the edge of the forest and at the foot of a massive snow capped mountain. Under the gray skies, the young man and his Espeon jogged up the rocky slopes without minding the herd of ponyta running away from them in the distance nor the flocks of spearow taking off from the tall grass cawing, startled by his passage.

With a sure foot, he made it up the cliff to a height where he had a good view of the surrounding Evergreen Forest. There was no path to follow, no clear indication of which direction to take but he knew exactly where he was going.

It took a while, as the terrain was difficult, uneven and sometimes traitorous but he made it, without any trouble, to the entrance of a small cave.

The thing would be almost impossible to find during the green months of the year, for thick bushes concealed the entrance perfectly. The cave itself was barely the size of a truck but it was enough to shelter him and his companion from the elements and, more importantly, from the spying eyes of Team Omicron.

He was expecting it when he heard the scandalized voice of the woman sitting in the cave, who got up when she saw him.

"Where in the name of Arceus have you been!?" she asked, her brow furrowed in displeasure and her fists planted on her hips.

"I've been... in trouble," he responded reluctantly but honestly. "I'm fine now."

The woman, her long greying hair neatly tied in a bun, rolled her eyes in exasperation but approached him with a sigh of relief. She was just about to grab him to embrace him when she stopped in her tracks, her wide brown eyes looking down at his chafed wrists. She grabbed one of his hands, examining it with clear worry. He had to roll his own eyes.

"Ma, I'm fine! It's just a scratch!"

He was promptly silenced by a light slap on his hand as the woman continued her examination of his light injury.

"Red Papenbrook... What am I gonna do with you?"

* * *

 _Did you see it coming? Did you know it was gonna be Red? Probably, right? Who else could it be?_


	10. Paying a social call

_Here you go; a decently long chapter to make up for me not updating for far too long. Now, from this point on, the plot really starts to get going and you will learn more and more about what the hell is going on, which I deliberately kept vague._

 _Thank you to all those who review. You all rock! Let me know what you think of this one. I'm curious whether some of you can predict what's gonna happen next!_

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Paying a social call**

"Ma, we need to leave," Red said gravely to the woman who had raised him, as she was rolling his wrists in bandages after applying an antiseptic."They're getting closer. I think they may be onto us. If we don't move out soon, they'll catch us."

Red and his mother had been hiding out there in the wilderness on the northern flank of Mount Silver, a place that rarely saw human visitors, for several months, now.

Before Kanto was thrown into chaos, Red happened to overhear rumors about an evil team hell-bent on taking over the region. A while later, as he wandered about, he saw them. From a distance, somewhere in Viridian City, several black coats were plotting to move to Pallet Town. Upon hearing this, Red had wasted no time rushing back to his hometown to protect the most precious person in his life. He had made it just in the nick of time.

He had awoken his mother in the middle of the night and they fled together just a few hours before Team Omicron showed up. He saw with his own two eyes just how serious the threat had been and how much he didn't want to be caught. He just wished he had the time to warn his friends and the rest of the townsfolk. Over the last year, Team Omicron had made a reputation of brutality and they attempted to spread their beliefs like a disease. They ruled by fear, using their pokémon to terrorise helpless civilians. Any one who tried to resist, they mauled or executed to set an example. Red had also quickly figured what they did with trainers.

Team Omicron did not ignore the benefit of having a large group of strong fighters. As such, any person suspected of training pokémon for battle was to join their rank, whether they chose to or not. They proved to be particularly persistant chasing after notoriously strong trainer like gym leaders and Elite Four.

That's why, when Red had heard that Viridian City was on particularly tight watch, he grew very worried for his lifelong rival turned best friend Blue Oak.

He had tried time and time again to figure out where his friend could be; if he had been caught, killed or if he had escaped. He really hoped the last one was what happened. But the hideout he had found for his mother and himself didn't benefit from cellphone coverage and on the few times he had ventured out in populated areas, dialing Blue's number had yielded absolutely no result, as if the device had been deactivated. It didn't seem like a good sign, but Red tried to remain optimisitc. He was sure they were going to find eachother eventually. Fate had a way of bringing them together.

He had ordered (or more accurately, pleaded) his mother to remain in the safety of the cave at all times, well aware that Team Omicron liked to blackmail some trainers into obedience by threatening their loved ones. The last thing he wanted was for her to be hurt because of him; and to have to do bad things as a result. But after spending several months in a cave with no contact with civilization, obviously, she grew impatient and he could tell she wanted to get out. She had her own people to worry about.

What she hated more than anything was when he left on one of his trips. Red was far too paranoid to let her wander off on her own, or even to allow her to accompany him. He insisted upon going on his own to fetch supplies necessary for their survival in the wilderness. However, without telling his mother, Red had also begun investigating the mysterious group that had sneakily taken over Kanto seemingly overnight. To find out who they were, what they wanted, who was their leader...

Of course, getting so close to the enemy was risky, and he had gotten into battles once or twice. One time, they had managed to sneak up on him when he didn't expect it and he didn't have the time to use his pokémon, which had resulted in his capture. He had thankfully managed to escape just now. Luckily, they didn't know who he was, which was probably the only reason they didn't send a bigger force after him.

Red was world famous ever since he had ascended to the throne of the Indigo League, dethroning it's previous champion mere hours after his own crowning. His skills as a pokémon trainer had made him an idol every aspiring trainer looked up to. However, he had always been an introvert at his core and didn't actively seek fame or attention. As such, he'd always refused interviews and never made any mediatized public appearance. He also shied away from cameras, so even though his name was widely known, his face was not and he was able to go through life without being bothered by anyone. Most of the time. And this had proved to be a lifesaver when it came to Team Omicron.

Even when they caught sight of him, they didn't know who he was, otherwise they might be a lot more persistant in hunting him down. Because of that, he was able to venture into most towns to get what he needed without attracting unwanted attention. Sure, he made a particular effort not to catch anyone's eye or ear. He wore dark plain clothing, never let his pokéballs be visible to onlookers and he had grown a short beard to change his appearance even more. He had even switched his signature red cap for an unremarkable black one.

"I'm so sick of hiding out there," Margaret sighed, finishing her probably unecessary bandaging of his wrists. "This can't go on forever, Red."

Red nodded sympathetically. This couldn't have been easy on his poor mother. She, who was a social flower and despiced violence and loved nothing more than living a peaceful life in her home. Being isolated in a cave for so long was understandably getting to her.

"I know, ma," he said, gently grabbing her by the shoulders. "But I know where we can go. We won't have to hide anymore."

At this, Margaret raised a skeptical but interested eyebrow.

"I found out that there's a group of trainers who has managed to escape and regroup to form a resistance against Team Omicron. A group of rebels, if you like... If the rumor is true, they're hiding out on Cinnabar Island."

"Cinnabar Island!? That's so far away! How are we supposed to get there with all these folks chasing after us?"

"I know, but... We're going to make it. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

"Oh, Red, it's not me I'm worried about."

Of course, she'd be more worried about him than she would be for her own safety. She had been raising him all by herself for most of his life. Like any single parent who only has one child, he was the most precious thing in her life. Especially since her husband, and Red's father, had abandonned them both when he was very young.

Their shared abandonment by the same man made it so that for the longest time, they only had eachother to stay happy. Red had been his mother's reason to try and get over her abandonment and Margaret was, to Red, the person who not only gave him life, but fought claws and teeth on a tight budget for years to keep him well fed, clothed and have all of his needs tended to, not caring about her own. She always put him first, but the older she got, the more Red wished he could get her to stop fussing about him and start worrying about herself for once. But well, mothers will be mothers...

* * *

The road was long and dangerous and Red had to take a longer route than he normally would have, just to avoid going out into the open where the enemy could spot them. Both he and his mother wore hooded jackets to travel through the forest. It was difficult, as they marched along the western side of Victory Road, and then route 23. Eventually, they would reach the edge of the ocean, right next to Pallet Town.

As much as they would both have liked to go back there to check if everyone was alright and to gather stuff they didn't have the time to bring during their quick midnight escape, going back there was far too dangerous, as Team Omicron was certainly watching it very closely.

Red had his mother ride on his Venusaur for the particularly difficult terrain in the hills, not wanting her to fall and hurt herself or wear herself out as she was in her fifties and not in as good a shape as he was. He could tell his treating her like she was a fragile old lady bothered her but she accepted it without complaining about it. Venusaur's flower helped shelter her from the rain and harsh sunlight like a big pink umbrella. As for Red, he was content with walking ahead, watching and listening closely for any threat.

Apart from the occasional wild pokémon who came by to look for trouble, which Venusaur easily and quickly frightened away, they only came close to being spotted once, as they had no choice but to traverse route 22. Red had been extremely careful, waiting for nightfall before attempting to cross. He and Margaret had nearly been spotted by partolling black coat wearing men but with some luck, they had managed to get past them and back into the forest before any confrontation occurred.

* * *

It took about a week before they finally made it to the edge of the ocean. Now, what was probably the hardest part was done. However, they had to swim to Cinnabar, which meant they would be out in the open for an extended period of time, which the former champion didn't like at all. But they didn't have much of a choice.

Mother and son climbed on the latter's Lapras' shell, getting ready for a day-long sea voyage. Luckily, the waters were calm and when the night came, Red sent his transport pokémon out into the waves, while his Scyther flew above them on the lookout for possible attackers.

During the afternoon of the next day, Cinnabar Island came into view and it wasn't long before Red spotted some fearows circling above them and a few dewgongs and tentacruels following them. Someone was definetly aware that they were approaching.

"What do they want?" Margaret's worried voice asked from behind his shoulders.

"I think they're lookouts," Red answered, eyeing them carefully but remaining calm so as not to agitate her.

What was left to be determined was whether these pokémon belonged to the good guys or the bad guys. These pokémon were definetly not wild, as it was clear to the former champion that they were following commands but none of them attempted to engage in a battle with them, which was at least a little reassuring. They were probably intended as sentinels for whoever sent them.

Some time later, he saw two other laprases, these with riders on them, approach them. Red saw his mother tense up behind him but he remained calm and slowed down his own pokémon as his Scyther descended closer to him in case he needed help.

"You there," one of the unknown riders called while the other one swam his lapras next to him. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Red would have prefered not to respond, as stating his name to people who could be Team Omicron didn't sound like a good idea. But at the same time, if these were the rebels he was looking for, them knowing who he was was possibly the only thing that could make them allow him to get to the island. So, he took a chance.

"My name is Red."

The shock was immediate and evident on both rider's faces and they exchanged a look.

"We were hoping you would show up, Master Red," one of them said. "Please, come with us."

* * *

With the two riders as his escorts, under the watchful eye of his Scyther, Red and Margaret finally touched the shores of Cinnabar Island. Red withdrew his Lapras.

Cinnabar certaily had changed. Almost a decade ago, a volcano had errupted from the depths of the Earth and had destroyed everything on the island; gym, pokémon center, mansion; everything. Red hadn't seen it in person since that had happened but the island had obviously remained uninhabited for a while after the catastrophe, as everything had been burned to ash by blazing hot lava. As the years went on, though, life had found its way and small bushes and plants had started growing again and wild pokémon were slowly coming back. Still, the entire island was covered in black volcanic sand and what little trace of human activity had been left behind by the lava waves were merely small hints of buildings; remains of crumbled walls and small piles of debris. It still looked very much like a post-apocalyptic landscape. The newly formed dormant volcano now towered over a dry, black wasteland.

The only building to be found was a pokémon center, which had been built not far from the beach to replace the old one.

Red had heard rumors about a bunch of trainers who had managed to escape the claws of Team Omicron hiding out there in the hopes of gathering enough force to launch a couter-attack to take back their land. There had been no telling if these rumors were true, but after months of hiding out into the wilderness, this had been the closest thing to hope he had found. Indeed, like Margaret had said, they couldn't hide forever and Red too was starting to think it was high time to fight back.

He had decided to take a chance to see if this whole resistance rumor was true and the risk had paid off, for he had managed to take himself, his pokémon and his mother in a place where they would find nothing but allies and wouldn't have to hide.

The Papenbrooks followed the two escorts down a long path concealed among hills covered in so much ash it looked like black snow, for a few minutes. After a while, one of the men spoke:

"We were hoping you'd come here, Master Red. Many of us, myself included, are convinced that if anyone can lead us to victory, it'd be you."

"Just call me, Red," he said, carefully deciding not to respond to the rest of the sentence.

This display of faith was quite touching but the former champion prefered not to make any promises and give them false hopes. He had come here first and foremost to keep his mother safe. If these rebels refused to provide this for him, he'd be out of there in a blink.

Eventually, they reached a large expense of flat ground in the heart of the island, at the base of the volcano. There, dozens and dozens of tents had been built and Red could see something like a hundred people and their pokémon walking around, chatting and sitting at campfires. Those, he presumed, were trainers who had managed to get away from Team Omicron. A few of them looked vaguely familiar.

Red's brown eyes scanned every face in his field of vision, looking for familiar strawberry blonde hair and sharp hazel eyes. Surely, Blue would have heard of this place, but as the escorts took them amongst the tents towards the other side of the field, he didn't recognize any of the trainers as his best friend and rival. However, a few of the rebel trainers did seem to recignize him, as incredulous looks and whispers were exchanged as he passed by.

The escorts took them to a large tent planted at the foot of the volcano. Here, they said, they would meet with the leader of the resistance. They asked for Margaret to wait outside but Red refused to go in if he couldn't keep an eye on her, so they ended up letting her in as well.

Red's eyebrows shot up in surprise upon seeing who was the leader of this so-called resistance sitting at a desk, looking through some papers. The red hair, the navy blue suit, the cape...

"Lance!?"

"Red!?"

The two men looked at eachother, equally surprised for a moment.

Well, Red did not expect that, but at the same time, it made too much sense. Of course, being one of the Elite Four for so long, Lance was definetly one of the toughest trainers in Kanto, and not only that, but he was a natural born leader. Although, Red was certainly wondering how he had managed to get away from Team Omicron...

"I'm surprised to see you," Lance said with his usual deep tone. "My, you've grown since last time I saw you."

Red got that a lot when he met with old acquaintances. He was no longer the small boy he used to be on his quest for the Indigo League throne. At 22 years old, he was now a fully grown man who, after going through a very difficult and unhealthy adolescence, had blossomed into a stronger adult, in every sense of the word. Though he was average in height and unremarkable with his short brown hair and deep brown eyes, he had taken it upon himself to make up for all the time he had lost losing his mind on Mount Silver and had done some intensive work on both his mind and body.

He had become a very controlled and laid-back individual. He was not short on bravery but he had grown wiser than he used to be. He had adopted a lifestyle that would let him maintain his inner equilibrium, for he was absolutely not inending to lose it... again.

His scrawny child body had been reborn into a solid muscular built. Red had taken it upon himself to do regular exercise to keep in shape. It seemed as though he had good genes, because he built up muscle pretty fast and with relative ease. He looked nothing like a kid anymore, especially with the beard he had grown recently. When he looked at himself in the mirror, Red felt proud, not out of vanity, but rather because he had gone through a terrible phase; had seen himself at his worst, small, weak, underweight and disconnected from reality and could now look at himself after overcoming that, strong, healthy, his back straight and his life back on track.

As for Lance, the man was in his late thirties but he had barely changed at all, except maybe for a few barely visible wrinkles. He still stood with his calm and commanding presence like the master trainer he was.

Lance wasn't exactly a friend; they really didn't know eachother that well, they had only talked on a few occasions, most notably when he battled the dragon master for the champion title years ago. Nevertheless, the two men had a great deal of respect for eachother and Red was happy to count him as an ally in this crisis.

"I'm sure you've seen it... What happened to Kanto," the redhead said, sadly shaking his head.

Red nodded.

"Well, now that you're here, we have a chance to make it change," Lance declared with renewed confidence. "Team Omicron is a cunning and treacherous ennemy. They have managed to get a lot of strong trainers on their side and they don't play fair. We've been trying to kick them out of our home a few times. We're strong but there's too many of them and too little of us."

Lance made a pause, his blue eyes going between Red, Margaret and his men, standing in the back.

"Which is why I'm asking you for your help, Red," he finally said. "There may not be a lot of us, but you are one of the strongest trainer in the world. You might just be what we need to tip the scale in our favor. With you, we can win... and take back our land!"

"I'm very flattered, Lance," Red responded. "And, trust me, I want these bastards out of my home just as much as you do. But if I'm going to risk my life and my pokémon's to help your cause, I'm going to have a few conditions."

Of course, Red knew that the rebels would ask for his help. They made it clear upfront upon meeting him. And he was not, by any stretch of the imagination, some sellout who would only help if he had to gain something from it. He wanted to drive Team Omicron away just as much as Lance did, maybe even more. But he hadn't forgotten what had taken him here in the first place...

Lance looked mildly surprised upon hearing this but his expression remained impassive, with no visible irritation. He probably knew the former champion was reasonable and not some mercenary who could easily be swayed by money or other such things.

"What would that be?" he asked calmly.

"I will help you if you can guarantee the protection of my mother. Ensure that nothing bad happens to her and keep her safe."

"Red!" he heard Margaret call out in indignation behing his shoulder.

She definetly was not happy at the thought of her only son going out to risk life and limb while she would be put to the side and ignored while that happened. He didn't feel good doing it, but Red ignored her protest, prompting Lance to do the same.

"Of course, it's no problem at all," Lance quickly agreed. "The place is well guarded 24 hours a day. As long as she stays here, nothing bad will happen to her."

Red could feel his mother's glare in the back of his head. He knew she wouldn't like being treated like some infant that needed protection, especially when her precious son was trading his safety and possibly his life for it, but Red refused to take any chances. He didn't want to lose her. He was certain he was gonna get an earful later but so be it.

"I also want your men to find out where Blue is and take him here," Red finally revealed his second condition.

"Blue? … Blue Oak? Professor Oak's grandson?" Lance asked, not having expected that to be his other demand.

Red nodded, serious.

"Why do you want us to find him?" Lance asked curiously.

Red knew that Lance and Blue weren't on the best of terms. The latter's arrogance had a way of irritating most people and Lance was no exception. Especially since Blue became a gym leader and therefore, a colleague to Lance. The young trainer had bent the rules of the League to his will ever since he'd been hired while the dragon tamer was a strickler for rules and traditions. Their conflicting view on how to manage their career and caused some friction between them. They didn't flat out hate eachother but Blue always liked to provoke and taunt Lance for being a "lap growlithe" to the League while he was an immature disobedient prick in the eyes of the Elite Four. Red hoped he wouldn't let this meaningless feud get in the way of his better judgment.

"Blue is just as strong a trainer as I am," Red argumented, hoping to convince him. "He could be a great help in a battle. You would rather have him on your side than on the ennemy's."

Lance remained silent for a moment, weighting the options, pondering if Red's help was worth the risk and the time. Sensing his hesitation, Red said what he knew needed to be said to convince him.

"If you can agree to these two conditions, I will do everything in my power to help you out."

That seemed to do it for Lance and the redhead slapped his hand on the table like a judge revealing his verdict

"Deal."


	11. Unshaken

_No, I'm not dead..._

 _I'm so sorry I haven't been writing this for so long. I've been getting into other fandoms and put this on hold, but I never had the intention of giving this up. I have high hopes for this story and a lot of great things planned. I hope I haven't lost your attention._

 _This chapter has been on the back burned for a very long time, for various reasons. It's not my best work but it's one of thoses transition chapter that bridges two major events together, so bear with me; the next one will be better._

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Unshaken**

A couple of weeks went by during which Red and Margaret waited patiently for Lance's plan to defeat Team Omicron to come to fruition. Both of them actually quite enjoyed the feeling of safety Cinnabar Island gave off. For the first time in a long while, they could relax without having to worry about being spotted and taken away. Margaret was also particularly happy to finally have people to talk to (Red never was much of a conversationalist). The majority of the people in the camp were young trainers who had managed to evade the evil cult's grasp. To a lesser extent, there were also family members, particularly the escaped trainers' children who were kept under the protection of the group. There weren't a whole lot of people in her age group, but Margaret still happily chatted with them and lended a hand wherever she would be needed. Even though she was no trainer, the mere fact that she was Red's mother earned her the respect of everyone.

The island being almost completely barren of buildings, the rebel trainers all lodged in tents of varying sizes. The Papenbrooks didn't have one of their own so they were provided with a spot in a large one to share with other people. Red almost felt guilty being handed a relatively comfortable spot because of his fame while he knew for a fact that many people were stuck sleeping outside, however, he decided to just take the compliment and make the most of it. Besides, he fully intended to give all of his power and skill to the cause as thanks for their hospitality.

He never was a social flower, though, and kept mostly to himself, only occasionnally interacting with trainers who wanted to meet him. He spoke very little and spent most of his time training his team in preparation for the battle that was sure to come. Even so, he still had too much time to think and worry about his homeland and the people there he had unwillingly left behind. Most notably professor Oak and Blue. How he hoped they were safe. He was especially worried for Samuel Oak as the aging man was not a trainer (anymore) and in no real position to defend himself against Team Omicron. And him being a very renowned pokémon professor specializing in the pokémon-trainer bond, he could be an appealing target for them...

He was not as worried for Blue, though. There was little doubt in Red's mind that if he himself had managed to evade the cult, his equally skilled best friend would have as well. Surely, he was hiding out somewhere and it was only a matter of time before he heard of the resistance, if he hadn't already, and would join them to kick the bastards out of Kanto. Surely...

There came a day, a week or two after the Papenbrook's arrival on Cinnabar, where Red was called to Lance's tent. The former champion went in to find the dragon master and a few other familiar faces who were a part of the resistance, such as Bruno, Koga and Erika, standing around a table.

"Red," Lance greeted with his usual seriousness. "Thank you for coming."

The brunette nodded to return the salute and mimicked the others by taking place around the table.

"I've been thinking through this invader problem that we've had..." the resistance leader began. "And I've come to the conclusion that... There is not a really safe way to go about this. I've reflected upon all the possibilities at nausea, again and again. We are strong, but there is not a lot of us. And most of us don't have any military experience and don't know our way around a battlefield where no rules apply. This is not like your typical League battle."

There was a moment of suspenceful silence before Lance spoke again.

"I have had spies fly around Kanto for the past few weeks to see if there is any information they could gather that could help us kick Team Omicron out. Of those that returned... very little was discovered. Except that we found out that they are using the Indigo Plateau, or more specifically the League building as their headquarters. Whoever is behind all this is probably hiding out there. Which is why we need to reach it and... do what we gotta do."

Although he didn't say it outright, all the trainers present at the meeting knew what he was talking about and they all kept a grave silence. Taking back their homeland was likely going to involve killing. And not just their own kind but their pokémon as well. This was war, after all.

"For the moment being however," Lance went on, "we are at a disadvantage. We are outnumbered and they have far more resources than we do, as we are confined to what little can be found on Cinnabar and snuck out of the main land. So, I think it would be unwise to try and tackle the main force on Indigo Plateau right away. As we all know, Team Omicron has forced a good bunch of trainers on their side. Trainers who would give us an edge if we were to rally them to our cause."

Lance and Red exchanged a look, both of them fully aware of one particular trainer they had agreed to not harm and take back to Cinnabar.

"I think that the best place to start would be in Pewter City. Now, from what I heard, this place is not as well guarded as some other cities which are points of entry in the region, like say, Vermillion. They probably figured that no one could get in or our of there without them knowing, seeing as it is mostly surrounded by mountains and that the paths south and east are too difficult for people without pokémon to navigate. Now, if we can manage to take Pewter, this will open the way for us to get to Viridian... which is extemely closely guarded and our only point of entry to the Plateau. What do you think?"

Red was certainly no military strategist but Lance's reasoning sounded fine, at the very least. Pewter City was pretty far away, however and getting there through land would see them go through some dangerous territory. Indeed Viridian City was a key location in the conflict and if they managed to seize control of its northern neighbor, then it would allow them to bascially flank the Evergreen City from north and south. And that was not even mentionning the fact that there was a decent probability that Blue would be there, in the town he lived and worked in.

One question remained. How would they get to the Stone Gray City? Sabrina was the first one to break the silence and ask the important question.

"We can't risk trying to fly over Viridian," Lance reasoned. "We're going to have to go through Johto"

"Red, I don't want you to go," Margaret protested, as the former champion packed all the necessities for the long trip he was about to take.

That his mother wouldn't be okay with him leaving for battle, that was certainly no surprise. His mother, his single mother who had raised him all by herself, was extremely attached to him, to the point where she was afraid to let him go, even if he was a fully grown man and one of the best trainers of his time. Now, to be fair, Red would definetly not be okay if it was her heading into danger but she was his mother and as his son, he believed it to be his duty to keep her out of harm's way, now that he was an adult and she, a greying, aging woman. Besides, he had no intention of getting himself killed or captured.

"I know, ma," he sighed, deliberately avoiding her guilt inducing stare. He tied his pokéball belt, loaded with his specially selected team of six, to his hip. "But I have to do this. In exchange for you and I staying here safely."

He could see, out of the corner of his eye that she was glaring at him, arms crossed and brows furrowed.

"I don't care," she stubbornly refused. "You're my son; I'm your mother, and you're not going."

At this, Red couldn't help but smirk in amusement. It was adorable, really, how she spoke to his 22 year old self like he was 8. If there was a time the faintest sign of her getting mad at him would have him cower in a corner, now the five foot-nothing woman could no longer intimidate him like she used to, although he still had all the respect he always had for her.

Normally, he wouldn't do anything to displease her but this time it was different. The situation was dire and called for him to make decisions on his own; even if it had to go against the wishes of the woman who had given him life.

He turned to face her, smiling reassuringly at her pouting face. And then he took her into his arms, holding her tightly for a brief moment to express just how much he was grateful to be her son. When he let go, knowing she couldn't stop him if she tried, he simply smiled.

"Bye, mom," he said simply, turning away and leaving her behind in the tent as he walked out to his duties.

* * *

Charizard's fiery jaws bit down on the primeape, burning the fighting pokémon's tan fur, eliciting a cry of agony and rage from it. The ferocious dragon, flawlessly following his master's command, did not let go of its opponent just yet, viciously shaking its body left and right until it threw it against a nearby building, cracking the wall. The ape-like pokémon collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Standing not far from his orange dragon, Red took his attention away from the defeated pokémon, leaving his black coat wearing adversary without means of defending himself. The red-capped trainer made an effort not to look at the four pokémon he had his fire lizard obliterate so as not to dwell to much on the pain he was spreading. A few meters away, the Team Omicron grunt started to turn tail and run. Even though he knew some of his fellow rebels would disagree about his choice to let him live, Red chose not to pursue and kill the man. He didn't want to kill anyone who had no means of defending themselves; it went against his convictions, even though he knew full well that the feeling invaders would inevitably get new pokémons and cause trouble again.

Around him, a furious battle was raging around Pewter City. After a long journey through Johto and the mountains up north, the resistance had reached the edge of the city. Team Omicron had taken over the place with relative ease, threatening harm upon any resisting citizens with their pokémon. The inhabitants had no choice but to try and go on with their lives while having about a hundred angry trainers watching their every move.

Lance had opted for the simplest stragegy. And so the resistance, about fifty trainers, including Red and the dragon tamer, had sent one of their own to kick up a fuss and atract the villains all into one spot, after which they charged the invaders without warning, catching them off guard. Many of Team Omicron's men were taken down without ever having the time to put up a fight. Those who did were swarmed by the resistance, Red taking it upon himself to attack those who seemed the strongest.

Now, the city was bombarded with fire, thunderbolts and rock throws, while screams of rage and pain resounded in the frigid air. The confusion was great and it became very difficult for the rebels to tell the difference between the enemy and innocent civilians. With his Espeon at his side, watchign his back, Red ran around the city, weaving between the battling pokémon and the explosions, looking for any familiar face that might have been ensnared by Team Omicron. Any trainer they could add to their ranks would make their chances of victory over the cult increase significantly. Someone... anyone... he could maybe save, instead of seeing them die.

* * *

 _You know, I'm no good with writing major war battle scenes that involve many, many characters which is why, instead of burning myself out trying to get this one out, I kept it short and sweet. Many, far more fascinating battles will follow but I just had to get this one out of the way._

 _Now, here's hoping I haven't lost too many readers. For those who are still with me, I'm gonna try and get back into this but I'm gonna need some fuel from you guys. So I wanna hear from you!_

 _By the way, If you're interested, I've made quick sketch of Red as he looks in this story and made it the cover of this story. So check it out! I've made one for Blue too, but I'll unveil it later._


	12. I am not afraid

_You know what, I just realized today that there was a chunk of the last chapter missing... I should have noticed it looked smaller than it actually was. You didn't miss out on much but I still recommend you go back to chapter 11 and read the second half of it. I don't know if I'm the one who screwed up or if the website did but well... it's fixed now._

 _Here is chapter 12. I know I made you wait for this one too. I'm trying to get back into writing because I want to see this story to the end although I still can't decide on a very important plot point and I'm just moving foward in spite of this... You guys' feedback may be what I need to make a decision so I wanna hear from you._

* * *

 **Chapter 12: I am not afraid  
**

While the battle was still raging on outside, Red had taken it upon himself to investigate the Pewter City gym, as was instructed by Lance, hoping to find, perhaps, the person in charge of the detachment of Team Omicron that had invaded the city. The semi-familiar building was quiet and empty when the former champion set foot inside but he was on high alert, his Charizard by his side, lighting the way with his fiery tail. What had happened, he wondered, to the rightful owner of this building?

Just as he set foot on the spot a regular gym challenger would, a silhouette emerged from the darkness. The electricty seemed to have been cut in the city, or at least a portion of it. The few small windows the Pewter gym posessed weren't quite enough for Red to see with much clarity. But as the mysterious person walked up to him, as if to greet him, the red-capped trainer frowned sadly without disguising his feelings upon seeing this person he knew did not want to do what he was about to do.

"Mr Harrison," Red said in a serious tone, hoping against hope it wouldn't go beyond words.

"Red," the kind hearted gym leader of Pewter City answered back, his current stance a far cry from his usual solid and confident posture.

Brock wasn't exactly his friend but Red had the utmost respect for the man, for the important role he had in teaching young trainers about the ways of the battle, including himself. The man, who had been barely 20 when Red first met him, happened to be the first gym leader he had battled and gotten a badge from. Their first battle had introduced a lot of very important concepts that Red would remember for the rest of his life, and in spite of a disadvantage, with his fire-type Charmander against his rock and ground types, Red had emerged victorious and got himself a Boulder Badge.

Gym leaders chose their team to face their challengers in accordance with how many badges said challengers had, so as to ensure they actually stood a chance (Blue was a notorious exception to that rule). If Red only had a geodude and an onix to worry about the first time they met (at which point Red had no badges at all), he knew full well that Brock, now a thirty-something very experienced trainer had a fully evolved and trained team to battle with, the likes of which would not be very far in terms of power, to the Elite Four's level.

Red had had a few friendly battles with the man in the years following his return to Kanto and had gotten to know him enough to not want to put him or his pokémon in harm's way. A righteous and sensible man like Brock couldn't possibly have joined Team Omicron; at least not on his own free will.

"It's good to see you again," Brock said, smiling sadly at him. "Although I wish it were under different circumstances."

"Likewise," Red said simply.

"Well, I'm sure you've seen it," Brock told, throwing a glance out one of the windows, both trainers clearly hearing the shouts and the roars of the battle outside. "These bad men have taken over my city."

"We are taking care of that, as we speak," Red assured, hoping he could get the older man to join their side.

"'We'?" the gym leader asked.

"Lance and a whole bunch of trainers have formed a resistance. We've come here to rid Kanto of their tyranny. We could use a trainer like you by our side."

To his mild surprise, Brock remained silent instead of showing the somewhat expected enthusiasm at the idea of siding with him. A minute later, he spoke again:

"I would love to, Red," he said, while slowly reaching for one of the pokéballs on his belt. He looked down sady at the round object in his hand. "I really would. But these fiends havent's just stolen all the trainers away. They've taken the innocent people of Pewter City hostage. For months now, no one not bearing that dreaded circle, has been allowed in or out of town. People have tried to live their lives in spite of the occupation but... if I don't do as I'm told... Innocent people will die."

The rock-type specialist clicked his pokéball unlocked while Red looked back at him full of pity. His Charizard let out a low growl at the anticipated threat.

"Forgive me, but I have no other choice," Brock finally said.

A blinding flash tore through the ambiant darkness and out of the pokéball materialised a fearsome Golem. The rock monster shook the ground as he landed on the floor, shaking dust out from all the nooks and crannies of the neglected building.

Red did not falter but sighed in disappointment. He had been hoping it wouldn't come to this. The former champion silently ordered his Charizard to stand down with a swift hand gesture. A dual fire-flying type was no pokémon to battle a powerful rock type. Instead, Red pulled out a pokéball of his own and sent out his enormous Venusaur.

Out of the three pokémon professor Oak had offered to his ten year old self to begin his trainer career, Red has chosen Charmander and his rival had picked Squirtle. The professor's Bulbasaur had remained in the man's custody for the several years following that until the day Red saw the old man again and inquired about the fate of the seed pokémon. The small creature had been living a peaceful albeit boring existence with the old man for all these years. And Red had offered to take him as part of his team, which Samuel had agreed to without hesitation, knowing that he would take good care of it and take it to levels he himself never could. Years of training later and the bulbasaur had grown into a fearsome Venusaur; a grass type that would be the perfect opponent for a Golem.

"Earthquake!" Brock commanded.

"Energy Ball!"

Venusaur may not have been a very fast pokémon, it was still faster than Golem. The creature generated a pure energy ball out of the flower on its back and sent it hurling in the direction of its opponent. Normally, that would have been the end for a rock-ground dual type pokémon that had a pretty low resistance to special moves. But Red knew that the rock monster's sturdiness would not have it go down in one hit. Yet, he was confident that his Venusaur could take the attack that was coming its way. And endure it did, all but insuring its victory over the Golem as its superior speed would let it finish it off without giving it the opportunity to strike again. A second energy ball did the job and the Golem fainted.

It wasn't really a matter of wining for Red. It was much more about keeping the gym leader occupied while his allies took care of the invaders outside. Once these were dealt with, there would be no need for Brock and him to fight anymore and the gym leader could actually join their ranks. Besides, it was evident that Brock's heart wasn't into this battle. Red could clearly see that the man didn't want to fight him. He was merely doing what he though was right by protecting the innocent citizens of Pewter. The formen champion had nothing but respect for that. _There is nothing to fear, Brock. You'll be free soon._

They both knew this was not a good match against his Venusaur but Red suspected Brock had nothing to counter a grass type effectively. He sent out a kaputops. A pokémon that had a speed somewhat equivalent to his'. Red got ready to end it all instantly with another energy ball but was surprised by an aqua jet that let the mollusc hit his pokémon first. Still, a water move of relatively low power did not hurt his Venusaur in any significant way which tiped Red off that Brock really had nothing to counter him; no pokémon and no will. Maybe he even understood what Red was trying to do and was simply trying to play his part as convincingly as possible for as long as he had to.

Another energy ball made short work of the shellfish pokémon. Brock had sent out a Rhypherior but the battle was interupted when the doors of the gym behind Red flew open. In walked a tall man with bright red hair, followed closely by an even taller orange dragon.

"It's over," Lance declared.

Behind him, through the open doors, both Red and Brock could see outside where the resistance trainers had gathered with their pokémon, many of them covered in blood, sweat and dirt. Not one black coat with a white circle painted on the back could be seen... standing.

The dragon tamer looked over at Red, and then at Brock, then at Red again and seemingly understood what had been happening. The man was clever enough to understand without needing an explanation. He could tell just by Red's expression.

"Mr Harrison," the leader of the resistance said with his distinctive commanding voice. "There is no need for you to fight anymore. Your city is free."

And when Red looked over to the gym leader, he saw with immense clarity the relief wash over the man's face as he relaxed his posture, allowing his pokémon to do the same.

* * *

 _People who didn't read Invisible might not know this but I ain't exactly the author to follow if you want pokémon battling. I'm pretty sure I've said this before but I think they're a lot of fun to watch and play but not so much write about. When I do, I HAVE to keep them short and sweet otherwise it would stretch on so much it would break the rythm of the story. And you know by now this story is focused much more on the characters than on the pokémon themselves. The battle in this chapter was pretty short but I mean, actual pokémon battles in the game sometimes go by very fast too, right?_

 _To make up for the slow update, I drew you guys a portrait of (my version of a mid 20s ) Blue Oak. I put it up as the cover for the stort so have a look! Just like I did for Red. Only this time I drew the lines in Photoshop and applied some flat colors. It's still very much a work in progress but it will eventually be a finished portrait with plenty more details. And Red will get the same treatment too. I'd be glad to hear your thoughts on it._

 _Speaking of Blue, what the hell happened to that guy?_


End file.
